[DC 86]

I know it sounds berserk and sacrilegious, but...

The Warriors should trade Klay Thompson if they want the new core to have a championship chance, while the young guys are still on rookie deals.

They simply must get under the luxury tax threshold, not only to afford the roster, but to be in position to sign a big 20-something Free Agent to replace what Klay provided to a degree, maybe even Wiggins if he needs to go too.

If they don't trade a big contract they will be facing a $500M payroll when tax is factored in.  That's just not going to happen.

I don't understand the intricacies of NBA salary cap management to know exactly what the options are, but it sure seems like a monumental challenge to figure it all out given all the variables that must be juggled.

The rules are complex but the NBA isn't like MLB where you can simply dump a high salaried player. In general salaries have to match up in order to comply with the league's trade rules. Of course you can trade for expiring contracts to play with the timeline, but simply trading a high salaried player for draft picks and/or underpaid young players (on their first contracts) isn't an easy plan to execute, as it is in baseball.

The options for trading Klay Thompson are basically to get an inferior player who is earning a similar salary but on a shorter contract, e.g. Russell Westbrook or John Wall. I don't see the point of doing something like that, assuming you're still in contending mode, as the Warriors are clearly are.

The Warriors don't really have room to maneuver, due to their commitments to Curry, Klay and Green. They are simply way too far above the cap. They can use their Bird rights to keep Wiggins or lose him when his contract expires, but there's no mechanism to really replace him with another player of his caliber in the open market. If they let him go they are still going to be over the cap and unable to sign a top free agent.

The Warriors have shown a willingness to go way over the cap, which I'm sure will continue. So ultimately they have to hope their core stays healthy and that they continue to draft well, because a wholesale reset in the short term isn't a viable option under the NBA's rules.

[DC 86]

I know it sounds berserk and sacrilegious, but...

The Warriors should trade Klay Thompson if they want the new core to have a championship chance, while the young guys are still on rookie deals.

They simply must get under the luxury tax threshold, not only to afford the roster, but to be in position to sign a big 20-something Free Agent to replace what Klay provided to a degree, maybe even Wiggins if he needs to go too.

If they don't trade a big contract they will be facing a $500M payroll when tax is factored in.  That's just not going to happen.

I don't understand the intricacies of NBA salary cap management to know exactly what the options are, but it sure seems like a monumental challenge to figure it all out given all the variables that must be juggled.

The rules are complex but the NBA isn't like MLB where you can simply dump a high salaried player. In general salaries have to match up in order to comply with the league's trade rules. Of course you can trade for expiring contracts to play with the timeline, but simply trading a high salaried player for draft picks and/or underpaid young players (on their first contracts) isn't an easy plan to execute, as it is in baseball.

The options for trading Klay Thompson are basically to get an inferior player who is earning a similar salary but on a shorter contract, e.g. Russell Westbrook or John Wall. I don't see the point of doing something like that, assuming you're still in contending mode, as the Warriors are clearly are.

The Warriors don't really have room to maneuver, due to their commitments to Curry, Klay and Green. They are simply way too far above the cap. They can use their Bird rights to keep Wiggins or lose him when his contract expires, but there's no mechanism to really replace him with another player of his caliber in the open market. If they let him go they are still going to be over the cap and unable to sign a top free agent.

The Warriors have shown a willingness to go way over the cap, which I'm sure will continue. So ultimately they have to hope their core stays healthy and that they continue to draft well, because a wholesale reset in the short term isn't a viable option under the NBA's rules.