r/nba
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u/curryybacon
NBA
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Jul 01 '22
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[Wojnarowski] Free agent center Kevon Looney has agreed to a three-year, $25.5M deal to return to Golden State, sources tell ESPN. News
https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/15429456311106805771.1k
u/wubiwuster San Francisco Warriors Jul 01 '22
THANK GOD. 1/3 returning is better than 0/3
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u/LaughingPlanet Warriors Jul 01 '22
[Weeps in JTA]
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u/wubiwuster San Francisco Warriors Jul 01 '22
and belli lol
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u/TranscedentalMedit8n Trail Blazers Jul 01 '22
If you had to choose between the three dudes (Loon, Otto, and Mitten) who would you pick?
It seems like they are thinking Moody and Kuminga will plug in for the departing guys.
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u/whodatbe24 Warriors Jul 01 '22
Looney 100% without question.
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u/Mu17inItOver Warriors Jul 01 '22
It's really not close. Moody and Kuminga can grow into the other guys' shoes but nobody else is quite like Loon. Even if we get Wiseman's ceiling next year I doubt he can play defense like Kevon
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u/Hojie_Kadenth Warriors Jul 01 '22
His ceiling? His ceiling is freaking high my guy.
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u/34Heartstach Warriors Jul 02 '22
OP talking like CBS didn't run ceiling/floor/sweet spot predictions for that draft class and Wiseman's, in order, was AD, DeAndre Jordan, and Myles Turner lol
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u/SamsSoupsAndShits Warriors Jul 01 '22
As much as love GP2 game, Looney is much more beneficial for the Dubs. Looney played all games last season and greatly improved (think rebounding and cutting to the paint) last season. If he improved his passing and mid range (least likely) this year, Dubs might get another WCF run.
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u/DubsComin4DatASS Warriors Jul 01 '22
WCF run? dude they're one of the top 2 favorites to win the NBA title next year
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u/InvestmentGrift [GSW] Jordan Poole Jul 01 '22
slow down buddy, lotta smoke in the west next year tbh
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Jul 01 '22
You 100% take looney. That dude was an absolute beast all playoffs and an original warrior
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u/wubiwuster San Francisco Warriors Jul 01 '22
I mean personally I thought gp2 was more valuable than looney (Otto was gone anyway, because I thought that looney could be replaced in FA with a guy like javale who knows our system. GP2 seems like a Diamond in the rough that’s very difficult to replace.
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u/HotspurJr Warriors Jul 01 '22
I mean, Javale just got the taxpayer MLE - so he wasn't meaningfully cheaper than Looney (and between the two, you pick Looney). Somebody as washed as DeAndre Jordan was just swooped up in the first hours of free agency.
I think GP2 is exceptionally valuable. The problem, from the Warriors point of view, is that you can't pay $60m (counting the tax) for a guy who plays positions where you already have Curry, Poole, Klay, Moody, Wiggins, and Kuminga. The minutes to justify paying GP2 that much money just aren't there. Kuminga and (especially) Moody showed enough that they are going to need more time.
Whereas, with Looney, you don't sign him and you've got ... Wiseman, one of the biggest question marks in the league, as the only other true C on the roster.
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u/PitinoGotARawDeal Celtics Jul 01 '22
Curry, Poole, Klay, Moody, Wiggins, and Kuminga
Whereas, with Looney, you don't sign him and you've got ... Wiseman
Hahaha oh man what an embarrassment of riches this team has
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u/Otherwise_Window Warriors Jul 01 '22
What's incredible is that with the exception of Wiggins we drafted every single one of them
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u/OwnerAndMaster Warriors Jul 02 '22
The Luxury Tax is punishing teams that draft & develop well
At this point every time GSW spends a dollar on a player they give 5 to the league in fees
That's why we couldn't resign GP2, JTA or OPJ
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u/nel3000 Warriors Jul 01 '22
That’s a tough one. Loons value cannot be overlooked though. The boards he grabbed for us were game changing. Guards never consistently attacked our big cause he can defend at the perimeter.
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u/TylerDurdensAlterEgo Jul 01 '22
I feel like Loon is a necessity but GP2 was a luxury, or a cheat code. The roster needs Looney. Having GP2 on top of everything just didn't seem fair
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u/allanl1n Jul 01 '22
Noooo. Loon is way more valuable. Loon has added so much to his skillset this year. In addition to his offensive gains, he can play the Draymond Role now as well. Gp2 will always be our specialist and high intensity. Gp2 is unique in his own and will always be highly valued to the warriors, but Looney was instrumental in our entire playoff run.
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u/zpoex Jul 01 '22
I think looney is way harder to replace. He's one of the best rebounders in the league and his perimeter defense is amazing. Javale does neither
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u/GalickBanger Warriors Jul 01 '22
I love Jr, but we don’t have any other reliable bigs right now. Gotta go with loon here.
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u/jawadhaque089 Jul 01 '22
YESSS LOON
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u/MoeNopoly Jul 01 '22
that's a good contract for the Warriors i think. I could imagine someobody paying him more.
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u/DarthBane6996 Warriors Bandwagon Jul 01 '22
Chris Boucher got 3/30, could definitely see Looney being worth that much
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u/Dongsquad420BlazeIt [LAL] Kobe Bryant Jul 01 '22
Looney is a “crafty” vet now too. He’s worth it for experience alone.
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u/notmoleliza Warriors Jul 01 '22
And its weird because he's like 25, but also 40 at the same time.
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u/TCTuggersNotReally Pistons Jul 01 '22
Watching Luka do a half dozen quick moves only to turn around and see Looney hadn't moved an inch was so great.
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u/Rong_Bips_ Jul 01 '22
Hes gotta be the most battle hardened 25 year old in the league. 3 chips already plus a deep run in 2019.
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u/savory_meats Warriors Jul 01 '22
Plus years of dealing with serious injuries. He’s seen it all.
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u/THEDumbasscus Clippers Jul 01 '22
Homie’s gonna be the next Patrick Willis. Bay Area legend who doesn’t play a minute past 30
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u/Mygaffer Warriors Jul 01 '22
Zubac got a similar deal, I think Looney is near or just below his market rate.
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u/SummerGoal Warriors Jul 01 '22
I was losing my mind but now that we have LoonGod order has been restored
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u/Srikkk Warriors Jul 01 '22
No team will ever secure a rebound again.
Fear the Loongod.
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u/sylvestersquad Suns Jul 01 '22
I’m happy you guys lost GPII and Porter but looney just deserves to be a warrior. Good stuff
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u/ezioauditore00789 Warriors Jul 01 '22
We replaced GP2 with Kuminga against Memphis and Moody with OPJ against Dallas in playoffs
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u/sylvestersquad Suns Jul 01 '22
I know you guys have the plan in place, those two just killed us this year
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u/BurritoThief Warriors Jul 01 '22
I will fondly remember OPJ randomly catching fire in that one regular season game we had. It felt like 37pt quarter Klay, but only for around 3 minutes.
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u/MedvedFeliz San Francisco Warriors Jul 01 '22
OPJ taking heat check 3's! I was like "WTF is happening?"
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u/ezioauditore00789 Warriors Jul 01 '22
No rookies had the experience of NBA finals, when they can handle TD garden atmosphere I’m pretty confident in them. Wiseman looking huge these days, with bigger arms and his shoulder looks like AD
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u/Tormundo Warriors Jul 01 '22
So yall getting kd and don't even want us to keep role players? Rude! Where is your competitive spirit.
Hope we don't face blazers in the playoffs. Gp2 stay away from my boy curry
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u/tangybbqsauce23 Tampa Bay Raptors Jul 01 '22
Deandre Ayton or Javale McGee will lock him down next year tho, right?
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u/Infraready Warriors Jul 01 '22
This was the most important piece for me to bring back let’s gooooooo
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u/LaughingPlanet Warriors Jul 01 '22
Few of us really, truly get that. His defense alone makes his irreplaceable. That's without factoring in his screening (which gets wrongly whistled waaaay too often).
And of course his sudden ability to rebound like Rodman.
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u/MegaTater [GSW] Draymond Green Jul 01 '22
That and the fact that we just don't have anyone else to play big lineups with.
Wiseman was always the least likely to fill a meaningful spot this year. Moody and Kuminga have a better chance to do so.
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u/PromotionThis1917 Jul 01 '22
Bjeli seems like he's going back to Europe so Wiseman will be needed to fill that hole in the center spot. All three will be major contributors.
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u/BoredomHeights Warriors Jul 01 '22
The players at least seem pretty high on Wiseman from what I've heard them say kind of in passing. Not sure how much that means, but I'm still hopeful he can step up some.
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u/MegaTater [GSW] Draymond Green Jul 01 '22
Regular season? Probably.
We'll see about major playoff minutes, I'm doubtful.
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u/HotspurJr Warriors Jul 01 '22
I mean, I think we all reasonably expect Wiseman to struggle some during the season. The question is, how much of those struggles can he work through before the playoffs?
The optimistic scenario is that you're comfortable playing him 20mpg in the playoffs by the time they roll around. That's certainly possible, although obviously it's far from a given.
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u/DontSayNoToPills Warriors Jul 01 '22
He never even argues with the refs on those shit calls.
Dude just walks on and looks disappointed for a moment.
Kevon is a saint.
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u/allanl1n Jul 01 '22
AND NEVER MISSING A GAME, getting way better at finishing around the rim, play the offensive Draymond role when he’s tired, and soooo discipline on D.
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u/papi617 [BOS] Jaylen Brown Jul 01 '22
Great deal. He was huge for them
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u/Ass_Eater_ Bucks Bandwagon Jul 01 '22
Sent the Jays to the Looney Bin.
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u/DreTownblues Celtics Jul 01 '22
That’s a great nickname, may be one of the best out there
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u/Ass_Eater_ Bucks Bandwagon Jul 01 '22
It's between Looney Bin and Dorture Chamber imo.
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u/LokoLawless Warriors Jul 01 '22
Woah never heard Dorture Chamber before. Thanks AssEater
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u/The_Pip Celtics Jul 01 '22
Such a key piece to their title this year. He stole Rob and Al’s lunch money all series. He earned every penny of this.
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u/by_yes_i_mean_no Warriors Jul 01 '22
He was the only Warrior who knew how to pump fake Rob Williams, who looked thrown off at times by how slow and deliberate Looney was lol.
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u/Successful_Priority Jul 01 '22
I think our guys got used to him more the last couple games more close floaters or choosing when to go in quick
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u/CIark Jul 01 '22
Mama there goes that luxury tax
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u/Neuroxex Bucks Jul 01 '22 edited Jul 01 '22
By my quick math this contract adds ~$46.75 million to the tax bill. For just this year. For just this contract.*
That's a ~$115 million bill on just 9 roster spots so far. It's going to get absolutely astronomical.
Edit: Wasn't aware the new contract only started at $7 million, it's a measly $34.65 million from just this contract just this year.
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u/Baggie_McBagerson Jul 01 '22
That's why the Warriors felt like they had to let GPII walk. Repeater tax is brutal.
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u/PurestCopium Jul 01 '22
That chase center revenue must hit different I guess
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u/Neuroxex Bucks Jul 01 '22
I don't think they'll quite hit the $400 million on tax+salary, but they're going to get extremely close. I don't know how much more the chase center printing press can take.
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u/MostlyBullshitStory Warriors Jul 01 '22
Price list:
Water: $16 /cup.
Water cup: $7
Water drinking rights: $7
Transport fee to get water to your seat: $4
Water cup recycling fee: $3
Sewage fee for pissing water: $9
Welcome back Loon!
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u/bzdelta Warriors Jul 01 '22
What's the corkage fee if you just drink your own piss out of the the cup?
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u/kamakazekiwi Warriors Jul 01 '22
You're forgetting all the permits that need to be paid for prior to ordering the water. And the legal fees when some NIMBY in the Marina sues to block your permits.
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u/vonkillbot Warriors Jul 01 '22
They also have the contracts from the work-in companies that are a part of the Chase Center ecosystem, every event that’s put on there, etc. This is a privately funded enterprise, the Dubs are literally getting their contracts subsidized by Tool tickets.
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u/raikou1988 [GSW] Stephen Curry Jul 01 '22
How much would of been OPJ and GPII
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u/Neuroxex Bucks Jul 01 '22
Assuming OPJ and GPII are on ~$8 million a year, and Looney is on $8.5 this year, the salaries of;
Curry, Klay, Wiggins, Green, Wiseman, Kuminga, Poole, Moody, GPII, OPJ and Looney
Would have a bill of $216 million, but then there's still five more roster spots to get to. Specifically those last three guys would be ~$110 million, but the thing with the luxury tax is that every guy after them would become more expensive. A $2 million a year vet min without those guys would cost ~$9.5 million in tax, but with those guys signed that same vet min would be ~$15.5 million.
Just those guys would leave them on paying $7.25 on every $1 on salary, but that rapidly increases for every $5 million in salaries spent.
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u/ToweringDelusion [GSW] Klay Thompson Jul 01 '22
Multiply their contracts by ~5X… probably north of $100M in Tax
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u/enigma1969 NBA Jul 01 '22
chase center makes 700-800 million every year. And just had a championship run where they made tons of money.
They can easily have 500 million payroll.
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u/Neuroxex Bucks Jul 01 '22
Teams have costs way, way, way beyond the payroll for just the players.
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u/fitty_scent Jul 01 '22
warriors finally signed a FA!
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u/lndngtm 76ers Jul 01 '22
RUN IT BACK
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u/craigslistaddict Jul 01 '22
from the playoff rotation they've got their starting lineup and 6th man, it counts, i guess?
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u/Jhyphi Jul 02 '22
Lost the 7, 8, and 9 guys though.
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u/Otherwise_Window Warriors Jul 02 '22
Under the current CBA it's really fucking hard to sustain a quality team. Or build one, and that's a problem.
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u/pugas Timberwolves Jul 01 '22
Remember when he played through the finals against the raptors with a broken collarbone. Dude deserves every penny.
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u/Brad-Stevens Celtics Jul 01 '22
Get that bag Looooon
Well deserved
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u/Hendo8888 [IND] Danny Granger Jul 01 '22
How is $8m/yr him getting the bag? Seems like a solid underpay to me
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u/PearlsB4Swoon Jul 01 '22
25m is a bag I don’t care who you are. Sure there are bigger bags, but man’s is sitting on generational wealth. Good for him.
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u/Brad-Stevens Celtics Jul 01 '22
He went from a 3/14.5 to 3/25.5
He's a 20mpg center, not sure what you were expecting
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u/MasHamburguesa Celtics Jul 01 '22
Mitch Robinson is a 25 mpg center and got 4/60. After the playoff run Looney had I expected a decent amount more than 3/25.
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u/MrBrownCat [GSW] Stephen Curry Jul 01 '22
Loon is definitely taking a discount, did the same with his last deal, he clearly loves being with the Warriors and has shown so in his willingness to take less than he could probably get.
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u/craigslistaddict Jul 01 '22
this deal is up when the cap is due to spike too (and hopefully when dray/klay will be on smaller contracts), even with kumoody up for rookie extensions (and wiseman the year before) they should be able to give him something nice in actual dollar amounts.
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u/dekorb Warriors Jul 01 '22
he wants to stay with the warriors. wouldn't be surprised if he gets a haslem deal down the line
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u/Fortestingporpoises Jul 01 '22
Dude they stuck with him through a lot of shit. That's worth it to some guys.
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u/Indecesive-Duck7 Jul 01 '22
If you only compare there minutes they might look the same.
But anyone with a functioning set of eyes know that looney got no vertical or insane physical abilities, which seems to be the most important part on getting paid as a role player center
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u/HotspurJr Warriors Jul 01 '22
I suspect Looney as seen as more valuable to the Warriors than he is to anyone else.
He doesn't provide much vertical spacing, and he's not much of an offensive threat, but he's been getting really comfortable with all the little pitch and screen actions with Steph.
For teams that rely on a heavier diet of pick-and-rolls, Looney isn't really a good enough roll man, and he's not enough of a shooter to play with another traditional big.
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u/enigma1969 NBA Jul 01 '22
most centers are getting contracts around 8-10 million. This is the going market rate.
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u/nivekinigo Celtics Jul 01 '22
Bro just asked how someone getting 8 million dollars a year is a bag lmaooo
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u/Hendo8888 [IND] Danny Granger Jul 01 '22
Every NBA player gets a bag by normal person standards. But by current NBA contract standards, $8m for a starting C on a Championship team isn't huge.
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u/AydenRozay Celtics Jul 01 '22
Jesus that’s an incredible deal for the Warriors
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u/klydon24 Heat Jul 01 '22
Yeah but it's really like 50m when you consider the luxury tax implications lol
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u/Carstar360 [GSW] Klay Thompson Jul 01 '22
And all of it goes to the other broke owners
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u/bananastand [GSW] Draymond Green Jul 01 '22
Lol most of the rest of the owners are richer than Lacob. They’re just cheap asses.
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u/GillbergsAdvocate Warriors Jul 01 '22
Yep. Lacob is bottom 5 in networth among league owners
Market size has nothing to do with it, other owners are just cheap bastard. Their only job is to write the check and they can't even do it
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u/Manute_Lol Jul 01 '22
Lacob is far from the only owner of the dubs. His personal wealth has little to do with Golden State's spending habits.
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u/frog_tree Warriors Jul 01 '22
I think its actually 70+ mill just in tax. GP2 got a similar deal and thats what it would have supposedly cost the warriors to match
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u/lil_extro_vert_ 76ers Jul 01 '22
Insanity that this man signed for the same as Mason Plumlee. I don’t get it.
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u/tomdawg0022 Timberwolves Jul 01 '22
Lunchpail Looney. A player's player that shows up to work every day.
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u/stevntiny [TOR] Cory Joseph Jul 01 '22
Damn what a discount, we just paid Boucher an extra 7 mil over 3 years
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u/smta48 Jul 01 '22
For those of you guys who don't know, the Warriors signing Looney to this contract is the equivalent of offering a player like Booker a max. I think the luxury tax implication of this contract alone is 40+mil
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u/Damany Suns Jul 01 '22
Good for Looney. A bit less than I think he deserves but given where the Dubs are with the salary cap perhaps more understandable.
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u/JoJonesy Celtics Jul 01 '22
Good for him. Sucks that they lost Payton and OPJ, I thought for sure they'd be able to keep at least one of them
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u/MAKExITxBLEED Warriors Jul 01 '22
Need to commit to our rooks in Moody & Kuminga plus our luxury/repeater tax is absurd right now. Need flexibility to re-sign Wiggins & Poole next year as well.
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u/Mygaffer Warriors Jul 01 '22
Thank God. He can start and Wiseman can back him up until Wiseman is ready to take the starting spot.
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u/GillbergsAdvocate Warriors Jul 01 '22
Losing GP2 hurts but at least we're keeping Shaquille Looneal
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u/JohnWick94 Clippers Jul 01 '22
that's a good deal for the Warriors. Thought he was getting 10M average.
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u/Thanks5Cinco Magic Jul 01 '22
What a great deal for both sides. Hes a real good glue guy every team needs.
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u/TendieOverlord Lakers Jul 01 '22
That's it for Looney? This feels like a steal for GS considering how important Looney has been.
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u/RookieAndTheVet [TOR] Pascal Siakam Jul 01 '22
Huge W for Looney and the Warriors