Wait until GSW has to resign all of their guys in the next 2-3 seasons and their cap is going to explode.
It's this offseason. Curry, Durant, Iguodala, Livingston, Pachulia, etc. all are FA's. McCaw, Thompson and Green are the only ones who have played in the Finals and are signed past the Finals.
Curry will get the max, Durant will pull a LeBron and do the 1+1 just under max thing, that puts them at $109 million next year for just Curry, Durant, Green and Thompson (plus Jason Thompson's waived contract). The entire team this year was $102 million.
For comparison, Cleveland will pay LeBron, Love, Irving, Thompson, Smith, Frye, Shumpert and Jefferson $125 million next year.
Portland's the sneaky contract team, they will pay Lillard, McCollum, Crabbe, Turner, Myers Leonard, Mo Harkless, Ezeli and Aminu a combined $120 million. And like half the team is signed through 2020. OKC will pay $90 million for Westbrook, Adams, Oladipo and Kanter. Even without Durant's contract their salaries already are logged as third for each of the next two years after Portland and Cleveland.
Cap expected go up to $102 million and luxury tax up to $122 million. Cavaliers are going to get whacked hard on the luxury tax because they'll be a repeat offender. Warriors just missed it in 2015.
edit: should add to be a "repeat offender" that gets hit with the extra penalties (
starts at 2.5x each dollar) you have to be over the tax in three of the four prior years, Cavs will be three straight