The NBA's salary cap is a headache. Honestly, if you aren't a math major or a CBA nerd, trying to figure out how the Golden State Warriors cap situation actually works is enough to make you want to go lie down. For a decade, Joe Lacob and Peter Guber basically treated the luxury tax like an optional suggestion. They spent. They won four rings. They spent some more. But we’re in a different world now.
The "Repeater Tax" is a monster. It’s designed specifically to kill dynasties like this one.
When people talk about a Golden State Warriors cap, they usually mean one of two things: the physical hats fans wear at the Chase Center, or the financial ceiling that is currently suffocating Mike Dunleavy Jr.’s front office. We’re talking about the money today. Because right now, the Warriors are navigating the most restrictive era of roster building in league history. It’s not just about having a high payroll anymore; it’s about the "aprons."
The Second Apron is the New Enemy
You've probably heard the term "Second Apron" mentioned on broadcasts or Twitter. It sounds like something from a kitchen, but for the Warriors, it’s a cage. Under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that kicked in recently, teams that cross a certain spending threshold—roughly $188.9 million for the 2024-25 season—get hit with penalties that are frankly a bit mean.
It isn't just about the money anymore.
In the old days, the Warriors could just pay a massive tax bill and keep their guys. Now? If you’re over that second apron, you can’t aggregate salaries in trades. You can’t send out cash in deals. You can’t even use your Mid-Level Exception to sign a veteran role player. Your first-round pick seven years from now gets frozen, meaning you can't trade it. If you stay in that tax hell for long enough, that pick gets moved to the very end of the first round regardless of your record.
It’s brutal. This is why Klay Thompson is in a Dallas Mavericks jersey right now.
The front office had to make a choice. They could have kept the "Big Three" together forever, but doing so would have functionally paralyzed their ability to ever improve the roster around Steph Curry. By letting Klay walk and orchestrating a complex sign-and-trade that brought in Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson, the Warriors managed to duck under that second apron.
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Steph, Draymond, and the Math of Aging
Steph Curry is still a god-tier basketball player. He’s also making $55.7 million this year. By the 2026-27 season, he’ll be making nearly $63 million. He deserves every penny, obviously. But when one player takes up roughly 35% of your total cap, the margin for error on the rest of the roster becomes razor-thin.
Then you have Draymond Green.
Draymond is on a four-year, $100 million deal. He’s still one of the best defensive minds to ever touch a basketball, but he’s not getting younger. When you look at the Golden State Warriors cap sheet, you see a lot of money tied up in the "legacy" core. The challenge for Mike Dunleavy Jr. is balancing that respect for the past with the cold, hard reality that you need young, cheap legs to win in a league full of 22-year-old track stars.
Andrew Wiggins is the real wildcard here.
His contract was once seen as a bargain after the 2022 title run. Now? It’s a bit of a localized weather system hanging over the books. He’s owed about $26 million this year, with a player option for $30 million in 2026-27. If Wiggins plays like an All-Star, that’s fine. If he doesn't, that contract becomes an anchor that makes it almost impossible to trade for a second star like Lauri Markkanen or whoever the next disgruntled superstar happens to be.
Why the "Two Timelines" Plan Actually Matters Now
Remember when everyone clowned the Warriors for trying to win and develop youth at the same time? It was called the "Two Timelines" strategy, and for a while, it looked like a total disaster. James Wiseman was traded for Gary Payton II (who they then let go, then brought back). Jordan Poole was shipped to D.C. after the punch heard 'round the world.
But look at the cap now.
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Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis are the only reasons this team has a pulse. "Podz" is making about $3.5 million. TJD is making peanuts in NBA terms—around $1.8 million. When you have elite production coming from players making less than 5% of your cap, you have a chance.
The Golden State Warriors cap is essentially a puzzle where the corner pieces (Steph and Draymond) are locked in, but the middle is a chaotic mess of rookie-scale contracts and veteran minimums.
The Jonathan Kuminga Question
This is the big one. Kuminga is eligible for a massive extension. Some reports suggested he wanted the full max—somewhere in the neighborhood of $224 million over five years.
That is terrifying.
If the Warriors pay Kuminga $40+ million a year, they are officially locked into this core. There is no more flexibility. No more "wait and see." You are betting the house that Kuminga becomes a perennial All-Star. If he stays as a "very good but inconsistent" wing, that contract becomes a "cap killer." This is the nuance that fans often miss. It’s not just about whether a player is good; it’s about whether their production matches their percentage of the salary cap.
Realities of the Luxury Tax
Joe Lacob has paid more than $600 million in luxury tax over the years. That’s more than the valuation of some NBA teams twenty years ago. But even a billionaire has a limit, especially when the league’s new rules make it so that spending money actually hurts your team's ability to win games.
The Warriors are currently trying to stay under the "First Apron" ($178.1M).
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By staying under this line, they keep access to the Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception. They keep the ability to take back more money than they send out in trades. They keep their draft picks mobile. It is a strategic retreat. They aren't "cheap"—they’re just trying not to be "stupid."
Common Misconceptions About the Warriors' Finances
A lot of people think the Warriors can just "sign someone" in free agency because they are a big market.
Wrong.
The NBA has a "soft cap," but for the Warriors, it’s effectively a hard cap. They haven't had true "cap space" to sign an outside free agent to a big deal since Kevin Durant arrived in 2016. Everything they do has to be through trades, bird rights, or exceptions.
Another myth: The Warriors saved money by losing Klay.
Well, yes and no. They saved themselves from the Second Apron, but they immediately used that "savings" to bring in De’Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson, and Buddy Hield. They didn't pocket the cash; they redistributed it into three players instead of one. It was a depth move.
How to Track This Like a Pro
If you want to actually follow the Golden State Warriors cap movements without losing your mind, focus on these specific markers:
- The $178.1 Million Line: If they stay below this, they can be aggressive in the trade market.
- The Trade Exceptions: They often have small "envelopes" of money from previous trades that allow them to absorb a player without sending salary back.
- The 2026 Offseason: This is when a lot of money (including Kevon Looney and potentially Wiggins) could come off the books, giving them a "reset" button.
Actionable Steps for the Cap-Conscious Fan
To really understand what's going to happen with the roster, you have to stop looking at box scores and start looking at the calendar.
- Monitor the Trade Deadline: If the Warriors are hovering near the first apron, expect them to move a smaller contract (like Gary Payton II’s $9 million) to stay flexible.
- Watch the Kuminga Minutes: Every game Kuminga plays is a negotiation. If he isn't starting and closing games, the Warriors are not going to pay him the max, which fundamentally changes their cap outlook for the next half-decade.
- Check "Spotrac" or "Pincus": Larry Coon’s CBA FAQ is the bible, but sites like Spotrac or salary experts like Eric Pincus provide real-time updates on exactly how much "room" the Warriors have under the aprons.
- Ignore the "Superstar" Rumors (mostly): Unless the Warriors are willing to part with Podziemski or three unprotected first-round picks, their cap situation makes it very hard to trade for a guy making $50 million without gutting the entire bench.
The dynasty isn't over, but the era of "spending our way out of problems" definitely is. The Golden State Warriors cap is now a game of inches, where a single bad contract for a role player could be the difference between Steph Curry getting one last shot at a ring or finishing his career in the Play-In tournament. Keep an eye on the numbers; they usually tell you more than the highlights do.