THE back-to-back National Basketball Association (NBA) titlist Golden State Warriors have $127 million in salaries committed to eight players for the 2018-19 season.
Heading into the summer, the Warriors have six free agents at the moment and are certain to exceed the league’s projected salary cap of $101 million even if back-to-back Finals Most Valuable Player Kevin Durant declines his $26.25 million player option as he says he will do so.
Last summer, Durant inked a discounted two-year, $51 million deal with the Dubs – which was close to $10 million less than what he could have gotten on a maximum contract.
But now Durant has indicated that he’s not taking another massive pay cut and is seeking a max deal worth around $158 million over four years.
* * *
Playmaker de luxe Chris Paul, who missed the final two games (both losses) of Houston’s 4-3 defeat to Golden State in the West finals due to a hamstring injury, is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Paul is unlikely to take a pay cut to remain with the Rockets – even if it costs them a chance to land LeBron James.
Paul, the two-term president of the NBA players’ union, is seeking a maximum contract worth around $46 million-$47 million annually.
The Rockets are $19 million over the salary cap.
* * *
Oklahoma City forward Carmelo Anthony owns a $27.9 million player option to remain with the Thunder that he can either pick up or reject by June 29.
He has already stated that he won’t accept a reserve role with the Thunder in 2018-19.
This past season, the 6-foot-8, 34-year-old Anthony struggled with his shooting while in a Big Three partnership with ball-dominant guard Russell Westbrook, who averaged a triple-double in points, rebounds and assists for the second year in a row, and forward Paul George, who is also eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer.
As the third wheel, Melo hit at a 15-year career-low 16.2 points per game on .404 field goal percentage, another career-low.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Bandera. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.