Could a potential expansion draft be the Golden State Warriors’ way out?
The Golden State Warriors are in a precarious situation. They have the highest payroll in NBA history and yet looked nowhere near good enough to compete for a championship come the postseason this year.
The pinnacle of their problems relating to finances is Jordan Poole who, with his new contract, is set to make money similar to the likes of Jayson Tatum, Bam Adebayo, De’Aaron Fox and Mikal Bridges. All of $30+ million per season just to shoot 34% during the playoffs.
His numbers last season are far more in line with his career averages than they were during the Warriors’ championship campaign. Perhaps it’s possible that the breakout season, where some were viewing him as a Stephen Curry clone, was simply a fluke.
With the Golden State Warriors in a tricky spot with money, an expansion draft could be their saving grace to unload salary without sacrificing youth.
On top of Poole, Klay Thompson has one-year remaining on a huge contract and Draymond Green is looking for a sizeable new deal this offseason as well. Combined with a number of young players who will be up for extensions off their rookie deals in the next few years, and the Warriors have a serious problem.
The new CBA will severely limit their ability to spend money through elements like the mid-level exception, completely hindering their ability to add more talent to the roster. In an era where depth is what separates a second-round exit and a Finals team, it’s an area Golden State will need to address.
Rumors of an upcoming expansion have been swarming the internet again. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver hinted at the possibility of expansion while adding that the league needs to finish TV Media negotiations first.
The talent is too concentrated right now, the average player is at such a high level that they command a significant contract. The last time this happened was immediately after the NBA/ABA merger and it led to the highest scoring era in NBA history. The solution that brought balance back to the league was rapid expansion that saw multiple teams added to the league in a brief period.
How does an expansion draft fix the Golden State Warriors’ problems?
The way expansion drafts work is that each team can protect only a certain number of players, the number changes depending on how many new teams are being added. Most likely, teams will be able to protect eight players in the heavily rumored upcoming expansion.
After the teams each select which eight players to protect, the new teams flip a coin to decide who drafts first and selects enough players to fill out their roster.
With the NBA being the sports version of Keeping up with the Kardashians, there will be drama, and there will be plenty of it. Relationships, play style, and money will all play factors into who gets protected. Players who don’t make the cut as a protected player will have certain feelings regarding the decision. It’s going to be messy, and NBA Twitter will love it. If and whenever it happens.
The reason this is important for the Warriors is the money aspect. They could choose to leave Jordan Poole and Draymond Green/Klay Thompson unprotected to bait one of the expansion teams into taking on their ridiculous contracts.
This would give the Warriors the ability to spend money again while also giving young guys like Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody a real shot at the rotation should they remain. From an ownership level it could save Joe Lacob millions of dollars.
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While this may not be ideal for fans, and it would hurt to say goodbye to one of the franchise’s all-time greats, this could be the best way of avoiding years of NBA purgatory. While it’s not on the short-term horizon, it’s a legitimate possibility and could present as a way out for Golden State.