Golden State's Real Cap Room Arrives in July, Not at the Deadline
The Warriors are paying $219.8M for a roster missing three of its five biggest salaries, and the only real way out of that bind is next summer's books.
Golden State sits above the $209.0M first apron while Jimmy Butler, Kristaps Porzingis and Moses Moody are all out. Butler's $56.8M and Draymond Green's $27.7M are not on the 2027-28 sheet, and that is where this front office's real choices begin.
Where does the money sit?
The payroll is $219.8M. The luxury tax line is $200.4M, the first apron $209.0M and the second apron $221.7M. That puts Golden State past the first two lines and just under the third, a spot that limits what the front office can do in trades or free agency. Five contracts carry the weight: Curry at $62.6M, Butler at $56.8M, Green at $27.7M, Porzingis at $19.5M and Moody at $12.5M. Three of those five are on the injury list. Butler is not projected back before January 2, and Porzingis and Moody not before December 1.
Who is earning it?
The cheap end of the sheet is doing the work. Yaxel Lendeborg, a rookie at $6.1M, scored 31, grabbed 12 rebounds and handed out 6 assists in the 134-114 win at Denver, and finished +27. Podziemski, at $5.7M, was +33 in 33 minutes. Gui Santos, at $4.6M, hit 5 of 6 shots. That is a team whose value sits in small deals while its biggest salaries wait on knees and an illness.
Why would they move Porzingis now?
HoopsRumors reported October 21 that the Warriors are exploring trade avenues for Porzingis and have contacted the Bucks. The cap sheet shows why: his $20.5M for 2027-28 is a player option, so the club does not control whether that money comes back. But a player listed out with an illness and projected back December 1 is hard to sell for value, and a team above the first apron has limited room to maneuver in any deal. A trade now would be about the 2027-28 books more than this season.
What opens next summer?
The 2027-28 sheet has no Butler and no Green, and no Bassey, Williams, Payton or Niang either. Curry drops to $55.7M. Podziemski's extension raises him to $19.0M, so the new core gets more expensive as the old one comes off. Melton holds a $5.8M player option. The draft assets are thin but usable. Golden State owns its own first-rounders in 2027, 2028 and 2029 and has swaps on its 2027 and 2028 seconds. It owes its 2029 second to Brooklyn and a protected 2030 first plus a conditional second to Memphis. Almost all of the flexibility this team lacks in October comes back in July. Patience is the cap strategy.
Are the Warriors over the luxury tax in 2026-27?
Yes. Their $219.8M payroll is above both the $200.4M tax line and the $209.0M first apron, and just under the $221.7M second apron.
Which Warriors contracts come off the books after this season?
Jimmy Butler's $56.8M and Draymond Green's $27.7M are not on the 2027-28 sheet, and neither are Bassey, Williams, Payton or Niang. Kristaps Porzingis ($20.5M) and De'Anthony Melton ($5.8M) hold player options for 2027-28.
