But the dynasty wasn’t shut down by that loss — it just hit a speed bump. The Warriors climbed back to the top of the mountain this season, winning their fourth championship in the past eight seasons and becoming one of the rare franchises that has been able to balance winning now and building toward the future.
The next challenge, of course, is defending this latest title. The good news: The core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green will still be in place for at least one more season. The bad news: Keeping this championship-winning group together could be difficult — and extremely expensive.
(All salary figures courtesy of Spotrac)
Warriors upcoming free agents
Golden State has several role players who will hit the open market this summer. Kevon Looney and Gary Payton II will be looking for raises after making key contributions throughout the regular season and NBA Playoffs.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr has referred to Looney as a “foundational” piece, so it would be a surprise if the team lets him leave in free agency.
Warriors future salaries, roster
As noted above, Curry, Thompson and Green are all signed through the 2022-23 season. Curry and Thompson are also on board for the 2023-24 campaign, but Green has a player option for that season.
PO = Player option
TO = Team option
RFA = Restricted free agency
UFA = Unrestricted free agency
Warriors 2022 NBA Draft picks
The Warriors own one first-round pick and two second-round picks in the 2022 NBA Draft.
No. 28 (first round) No. 51 (second round) No. 55 (second round)
In his latest NBA Mock Draft, The Sporting News’ Kyle Irving projected that Golden State would select Arizona center Christian Koloko with the No. 28 pick. Here is Irving’s analysis of the selection:
One burning question
Will the Warriors continue to outspend the rest of the NBA?
Golden State has been printing money inside the Chase Center and should get some cap relief down the road when the NBA reaches an agreement on its next television rights contract. Those factors are worth noting, but there is no avoiding the main headline here.
He’s quick and athletic enough to keep up with Golden State’s smaller lineups, and he could be a steal, considering he’s still growing as a player after primarily playing soccer until he was 15.
This is going to be an extremely expensive team.
The Warriors have the priciest roster in the NBA with player salaries and luxury tax payments reaching nearly $350 million. To put that number in perspective, only the Nets, Clippers, Bucks and Lakers spent more than $200 million this season.
While other teams attempt to slide under the salary cap, it seems that ownership is willing to write the checks if the team continues to compete at a high level.
When asked by Yahoo Sports’ Vincent Goodwill if tax penalties would prevent Golden State from re-signing Poole, Warriors president of basketball operations and general manager Bob Myers immediately shot down the question.
“I mean, thankfully [I] work for an ownership group in Joe [Lacob] that has committed all kinds of resources to winning,” Myers said before the start of the 2022 NBA Finals. “And I know that because every time I asked him about roster and strategy, it’s always winning. … He just wants to win. And we’ve spent a lot and we’ve kept all the players we want to keep, so I don’t see that changing.”
Rival teams have been “grumbling about Golden State’s competitive spending advantage,” according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, but the Warriors haven’t circumvented any NBA rules. They have drafted well, executed smart deals and retained their stars.
If each member of the organization remains aligned and focused on winning, no matter the cost, the Warriors should be able to extend their championship window.
