The league suffered a drop in revenue which stemmed from the rift with China while Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr is considering a lineup change. NBA Salary-
According to reports, the NBA could have a lower salary cap and luxury-tax threshold for the following season from what was originally calculated. In a statement by the league, they said, ‘The league has alerted teams to the impending release of adjusted 2020-2021 salary and luxury-tax projections, signalling the likelihood that a decline in revenue will cause a drop in the figures’.
The statement identified that the drop in revenue was caused by the rift with China after the controversial tweet by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey in support of the protests taking place in Hong Kong. According to the NBA, it lost between $150-200 million when China dropped their sponsorships of the league in response to Morey’s tweet.
With the salary cap affecting free-agency decisions, the luxury-tax threshold will affect the teams who exceed that cap. Reports note that the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors, Rockets and Philadelphia 76ers could find themselves over the $138 million mark.
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Meanwhile, Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors’ head coach, is experimenting with his team’s lineups. Currently, they have the third-youngest roster in the league, totally opposite from their veteran-led team just a year ago. The Warriors have the worst record in the NBA to date, hence, Kerr is finding ways to improve their performance. ‘We might try to change the lineups a little bit’, said Kerr. ‘Just so we’re not bringing in three of four young guys at the same time. Right now we’re trying to bring along these young guys. And it’s tough because we’re trying to bring them on at the same time’.
Of all the Warriors’ player combinations, the lineup of Draymond Green, Marquese Chriss, D’Angelo Russell, Damion Lee and Glenn Robinson III is, by far, the most successful one. Despite playing just 35 minutes together, they’ve outscored their opponents by as much as 43 points.
Two of the Warriors’ star players – the Splash Brothers, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson – have missed most, if not all, of the season. Green has also been shooting a dismal 38 percent. This means that Russell has a lot of shoes (and big ones) to fill. However, he’s not without his struggles. During their match against the Celtics, he made just seven of his 17 attempts. The team also had 24 turnovers and got outscored in the paint.
‘I didn’t think we played particularly well tonight’, said Kerr during the postmatch interview. ‘We hung in there, we fought, which was good. But we weren’t very sharp’. It’s been made clear that his priority for the team isn’t making the NBA Finals but making improvements to the team with what he has.
