At the end of the regular season, the Clippers have to pay 34.8 million in luxury tax and the Warriors 40.3 million, so what about the Lakers?
On April 15, Beijing time, the season's regular season finale finally ended, and the Lakers, Kings and Warriors all won today, so the rankings of the three teams have not changed, the Lakers are still 8th in the West, the play-off opponent is the Pelicans, and the Kings are going to play against the Warriors. Next, we're going to talk about the luxury tax, so which teams are paying the luxury tax this season?
According to statistics, there are a total of 8 teams to pay the luxury tax, in order of ranking: Warriors ($40.3 million), Clippers ($34.8 million), Suns ($26.2 million), Celtics ($18.4 million), Bucks ($16.9 million), Nuggets ($12.6 million), Heat ($9.4 million), and Lakers ($2.8 million).
The Warriors have to pay $40.3 million in luxury tax, the first in the league, and the Warriors are obviously not worth spending in terms of record, after all, it is still unknown whether they can make the playoffs, as the so-called paying the most taxes is the most vicious, the 10th playoffs in the West have only one life, if they lose to the Kings, then the Warriors will be completely out. The Warriors have many players with big contracts, such as Curry, whose salary this season is $51.92 million, Klay is $43.22 million, Paul is $30.8 million, Wiggins and Green are also above $20 million, Klay is facing a contract extension in the offseason, he will definitely have to accept a salary cut, and the Warriors can't give a big contract at all.
The Clippers are in second place and have to pay $34.8 million in luxury tax, and the Warriors don't have the championship strength, but the Clippers do. Leonard and George both have salaries of $45.64 million this season, Harden is $35.68 million, Powell is $18 million, and others are not paid well, such as Willis is $3.84 million. George has a player option in the offseason, he can renew his contract in advance, it is estimated that the contract will not exceed Leonard, Harden is unknown, he will become a completely free agent, with the current strength of the beard, the pursuit of the maximum salary must be no fun, there is a high probability that he will reduce his salary to stay with the Clippers, even if he changes teams, he will not be able to get a big contract, it is better to renew the Clippers.
The Suns have to pay $26.2 million in luxury tax, the third most in the league, and the Suns are very lucky today, they won the Timberwolves, and the Pelicans lost to the Lakers, so the Suns finally locked up the 6th place in the West and didn't have to play the play-offs. The shortcomings of the Suns are actually very obvious, that is, they rely too much on the singles of the Big Three, followed by poor defense, as far as the West is concerned, the Suns are most afraid of the Clippers. Durant's salary this season is $47.65 million, Beal's is $46.74 million, and Booker's is $36.02 million, and the Big Three all account for a lot, and it should be noted that Booker will be a full free agent in the offseason.
In fourth place is the Green Army with a luxury tax of $18.4 million, and the Bucks are fifth with a luxury tax of $16.9 million, both teams have excellent regular season records, with the Green Army No. 1 in the league and the Bucks No. 3 in the East. In terms of roster depth, the Green Army can be said to be the top in the league, with a balanced offense and defense in every position, but the Green Army has not won the championship in recent seasons because Tatum and Jaylen Brown are prone to falling off the chain in the playoffs, and I wonder if they can succeed this year. The problem with the Bucks is that the defense has slipped significantly, resulting in a lack of strength as last season, and Lillard has a strong scoring ability, but unfortunately he is too inconsistent and often digs holes.
The Nuggets are in 6th place with a luxury tax of $12.6 million, and the Heat are 7th with a luxury tax of $9.4 million. The Nuggets are undoubtedly the strongest team in the league and still have a high probability of winning the championship this year, Jokic has a salary of $47.61 million this season, Murray is $33.83 million, Porter is $33.39 million, Gordon is $22.27 million, Pope is $14.7 million, as for the others are not high, Pop has a player option in the offseason, and the other four starting contracts have not expired. The Heat reached the Finals last year, and this year there is no hope, and it is a question of whether they can even make the playoffs.
So how much luxury tax do the Lakers have to pay? The answer is only $2.8 million, which is really outrageous, much less than the Warriors, the Lakers beat the Pelicans today, the two sides will meet again in the playoffs, if the Lakers win, then they will play the playoffs as the 7th in the West, when the opponent in the first round is the Nuggets, it is clear that the Lakers must be hungry for revenge. James' salary this season is $47.61 million, Brother Bush is $40.6 million, the big two account for the majority, Russell is $17.31 million, great value for money, the Lakers originally wanted to trade Russell, now think about it, such a cheap and powerful guard is indeed rare, Hachimura is $15.74 million, Reaves is $12.02 million, Vincent is $10.5 million, and everyone else gets a base salary.