For deep luxury tax teams, the back end of an NBA roster is a common money-saving opportunity. Here’s how the Golden State Warriors have slashed their bills over the past half decade. This season, that meant Ryan Rollins — and his reduced rookie pay in Round Two — was in 14th place and nobody in the vacant 15th, avoiding more than $10 million in additional taxes.
Even this deep into the season, tax penalties partially guide the team’s roster building. This comes from a soundbite from Bob Myers last week as he discussed the possibility of adding a buyout candidate to his vacant roster spot.
“Any buyout conversation needs to be conducted in conjunction with the coaching staff,” Myers said. “Because why get a player if he won’t be useful? There’s a good quote from John Wooden: “Don’t confuse activity with performance.” Not only do I want to say that I’ve scoured the buyout market, here’s a guy and he’s at the bottom of the bench. Because for us it’s 3 to 4 million US dollars (pro rata). What Joe (Lacob) has done and would do. But that’s the conversation with the coaching staff, who would play and who’s available.”
Translation: It won’t give the green light unless it’s a solid rotation player on a nightly basis. It wouldn’t have been Kevin Love, for example. He went to the Miami Heat for $3.1 million and a clear path to regular minutes. The Warriors wouldn’t have offered it either.
Patrick Beverley generated more interest in the front office. External defense was a problem. That’s why they traded for Gary Payton II. But the conversation in Beverly didn’t even get to the bidding stage. If the rotation is completely healthy, he would have been behind Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Jordan Poole, Donte DiVincenzo and Payton in the pecking order. Beverley chose Chicago, mentioning on his podcast that the Warriors “have a lot of guards over there.”
“The buyout market in general has been overdone over the years,” said Steve Kerr. “It’s usually difficult to find someone who’s going to make a big impact. Maybe you’re looking at some kind of insurance policy. But the reality is, if you get to the playoffs, insurance policies don’t win you.
The Warriors plan to give someone that 15th spot before the end of the regular season. Tax penalties don’t extend into the playoffs. There is no reason to leave this space empty. Two years ago, they gave Juan Toscano-Anderson and Payton vacant squad spots in the final week of the regular season.
This comparable scenario is another reason why the Warriors were increasingly more likely to convert either Anthony Lamb or Ty Jerome – their two-way players – to their 15th place pick rather than add a buyout veteran. Back then, the Warriors gave Toscano-Anderson and Payton multi-year, non-guaranteed contracts, giving them contract control during the offseason and keeping them on schedule. Both became favorable contributors to an eventual title team.
A few months ago, Lamb and Jerome had a conceivable route to the squad. JaMychal Green’s lack of production and prolonged absence left him vulnerable before the deadline, a candidate to be traded for dropping wages to further cut the tax bill and create an extra job. They did that with Marquese Chriss and Brad Wanamaker the year they signed Toscano-Anderson and Payton.
But Green moved up the ranks in the weeks leading up to the deadline, reclaiming his third-big spot and retaining his roster spot. That leaves just one spot left for either Lamb or Jerome should the Warriors decide to convert.
“We have to look and see if it’s[to convert one of them]or another player and compare them,” Myers said. “And say to Steve, ‘Here are your options. Which player do you think will help us the most?’ We have to fit into the system. We have to match what works here and what works here.”
The Warriors have a growing track record in the two-way market. In the first season of its existence, they used it to bring Quinn Cook to his knees. Cook actually started the final month of the regular season with a paused Curry. They needed Cook for the playoffs, so they dropped and added Omri Casspi, the first of their two-way conversions. Damion Lee and Toscano-Anderson were the next two big two-page success stories.
That summer, the Warriors decided to draft Rollins and Patrick Baldwin Jr., two project rookies, while retrieving Andre Iguodala despite knowing he would be sitting most of the regular season. That meant almost nothing in the seat of 12th, 13th, 14th and empty 15th, prompting fair criticism of the overarching roster construction.
It placed additional emphasis on their ability to identify suitable players either way who could fit into Kerr’s rotation if the need arose. This is Kent Lacob’s front office. He oversees G League scouting. He is credited with the Payton Fund.
“That’s where our organization really excelled,” Kerr said. “Kent Lacob, David Fatoki, it’s really their responsibility to get players into training camp, potential two-way guys and they’ve done it.”
Fatoki is the general manager of the Santa Cruz Warriors. Nick U’Ren and Ryan Atkinson are influential voices in the space. Santa Cruz coach Seth Cooper was part of the group that voted on their G League MVP a season ago. Together they chose Lamb, a player they had long thought could excel in their system. When he became available in preseason, they added him.
Lamb initially thought he would spend much of the early season in Santa Cruz. But when Kerr remade the rotation after 10 games, he replaced James Wiseman. Lamb did 40 percent of his 3s with a fairly high volume (145 attempts), providing a stretch option for a frontcourt that lacks it. He’s had some big moments in key wins — check out that season-high five-game winning streak around Christmas — and leads all two-way players in the NBA in minutes and points this season.
“Those reps are priceless,” Lamb said.
Jerome is not far behind in either category. The front office has liked him since his preliminary draft in 2019. He made four picks before they took Poole. He opted for a two-way game with the Warriors this summer, in part because he knew Curry and Thompson would selectively miss a handful of games to rest and likely miss another part due to season wear and tear.
“This is an opportunity to play 20, 20+ games on a championship team,” Jerome said.
His suspicion was correct. Jerome has been key to the Warriors during Curry’s various absences. He even had a night with 22 points, 8 assists and 41 minutes in a home win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. He’s currently averaging about 19 minutes a night with Curry and Payton and has 105 assists and just 23 turnovers this season, giving Kerr the third point guard safety blanket he always covets.
“I know that having two two-way guys playing significant minutes is kind of unique,” Curry said. “They play well and help us.”
The question could soon shift to which of the two do they think will help them more in the playoffs.
Lamb has used 43 of his 50 available two-way plays. Jerome fielded 36. With JaMychal Green in a good rhythm, it’s easier for the Warriors to disable and save Lamb’s seven remaining games. Jerome is necessary until Curry returns. The longer they wait before making a conversion decision, the more pro rata tax dollars they save and the more information they accumulate.
The argument to Lamb is based on a position. The Warriors are thinner in advance. In the playoffs, especially when JaMychal Green’s shot leaves him again, it’s easier to see Lamb getting rotational minutes as a stretch option in a small ball environment when Jerome comes into a backcourt picture that has Curry, Payton, Poole, Thompson and DiVincenzo should be there for the crease.
But the context guiding the situation could change. An unlikely takeover candidate could emerge before March 1st. Injuries could change the picture again. A sustained crash down the table could make the non-guaranteed control of a younger player a bigger priority for next season.
(Top Photo by Anthony Lamb: Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)