Klay Thompson might have tipped us off before the show started.
The beloved Warriors guard said that his squad would be in the building for the ESPYs as Steph Curry hosted the sports gala, and Golden State ended up being named Best Team. Curry was joined on stage by Klay, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and Juan Toscano-Anderson.
The guys looked like they were a couple drinks deep and having a fun time on stage. After Steph said a little something to start ‘em off, Iguodala took the mic and the opportunity to do a shameless podcast plug.
“I just came up here to promote my podcast ‘Point Forward’ with my man Evan Turner,” Iguodala said. “We just got Joe Lacob fined $500K. I’m sorry, Joe.”
The Warriors governor Lacob joined Iguodala and Turner on their latest episode and gave his candid thoughts on the state of the franchise. At one point during the highly entertaining conversation, Lacob voiced his dissatisfaction with the NBA’s luxury tax system, which has pushed Golden State’s player payroll to the top of the league north of $340 million.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, those comments led to a $500,000 fine for Lacob and the Warriors for "unauthorized communications regarding collective bargaining."
Here’s the full clip from Lacob’s comment on “Point Forward”:
For context, Lacob and the Warriors were chided by their colleagues for the “competitive spending advantage” during their playoff run. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst famously called a playoff victory a “checkbook win” after Andrew Wiggins – the team’s fourth max contract player – led the team to a victory.
“Truth is we’re only about $40 million above the luxury tax line,” Lacob said. “It’s not small but it’s not a massive number. We’re $200 million over the total because most of that is this incredibly penal luxury tax and what I consider to be very unfair. I’m gonna say it on this podcast and I hope it gets back to whoever’s listening. Obviously, it’s self-serving for me to say this, but I think it’s an unfair system. … It’s penal because were a self-developed, a homegrown team.”
Perhaps Lacob has a point. Outside of Wiggins, whom they took a risk on when other teams viewed him as damaged goods, the Warriors were built without splurging on salaries. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Kevon Looney, Jordan Poole, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and James Wiseman were all drafted and developed by the franchise. Free agents Iguodala, Otto Porter Jr. and Nemanja Bjelica were all signed to minimum deals. Toscano-Anderson, Damion Lee and Gary Payton II were developed in the G League. Should the Warriors be penalized for staying loyal to their guys?
Golden State is making it work and players want to join in. That’s how they were able to lure quality free agent veterans like Donte DiVincenzo and JaMychal Green this offseason, while also saving about $60 million compared to the amount it would have required to keep Payton and Porter around.
The Dynasty Dubs keep on chugging along. A half a million dollars is a half a million dollars, but Lacob and Golden State can probably handle the fine. At least we know for sure that Lacob’s message made it to the powers that be.
