A Second-Apron Bill Now, A Blank Slate by 2027
Golden State's payroll is bloated for one more season, but the money that makes it heavy is largely set to disappear at once next summer.
The Warriors sit at $223.3 million, above the NBA's $221.7 million second apron, after adding Nick Boyd and Elias Ralph and waiving Jacksen Moni on September 19. Most of that bill traces to five contracts, and three of the biggest come off the books after this season.
Where the Number Sits
Golden State's payroll is $223.3 million, above the $221.7 million second apron and well past the $200.4 million luxury-tax line. That number moved again on September 19, when the Warriors added Nick Boyd and Elias Ralph and waived Jacksen Moni. None of those three moves changes what actually drives the total: five contracts, not the players at the end of the bench.
Five Contracts, Most of the Bill
Moses Moody ($12.5 million), Kristaps Porziņģis ($19.5 million), Draymond Green ($27.7 million), Jimmy Butler ($56.8 million) and Stephen Curry ($62.6 million) account for most of the $223.3 million. Everyone else, from Al Horford's $6.8 million down to Dalen Terry's $1.4 million, is filling in around those five numbers rather than adding to them in any real way.
What Clears After This Season
Three of the five contracts driving this year's bill — Butler's, Green's and Curry's — do not appear on next season's cap sheet, along with seven more: Brandin Podziemski, Georges Niang, Gary Payton II, Charles Bassey, Brandon Williams, Alex Toohey and Dalen Terry. Only Porziņģis, Moody, Horford, Yaxel Lendeborg, De'Anthony Melton, Gui Santos and Will Richard carry into 2027-28, and two of those seven, Porziņģis and Melton, hold player options rather than guarantees. A team stuck at the second apron in September could look nothing like one twelve months out.
What's Still in the Drawer
None of this has cost Golden State its draft capital. The Warriors own their first-round picks in 2027, 2028 and 2029, with second-round swaps attached to the first two of those years; the only pick owed away outright is a 2029 second-rounder, sent to Brooklyn. Whatever room opens up once this season's contracts expire, there will be picks available to pair with it.
Are the Warriors over the luxury tax this season?
Yes. Golden State's payroll is $223.3 million, above both the $200.4 million tax line and the $221.7 million second apron.
Do the Warriors keep their own first-round picks?
Yes, they own their first-rounders in 2027, 2028 and 2029; only a 2029 second-round pick is owed elsewhere, to Brooklyn.
