The Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green is currently suspended indefinitely. Having played 15 games, Green has already been involved in three altercations this season. He has already served a 5-game suspension after he put Rudy Gobert in a headlock in November. Fans will be concerned with Green’s absence as the Dubs struggle to stay afloat in the West.
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However, not everything seems to be a disaster as far as the franchise is concerned. According to journalist Bobby Marks, Draymond Green’s suspension means that the Warriors will save at least $519,555 per game in luxury taxes. Marks recently detailed the financial aspects related to Green’s suspension in this X post.
He reported that if the suspension was going to last less than 20 games, it would cost Green $153,941 per game. On the other hand, if it lasts more than 20 games, Draymond will pay $202,922 per game. This, however, does not represent a financial hit for the Warriors themselves.
According to Marks, the Warriors will save $519,555 in luxury taxes for every game their veteran defender is suspended. If we assume Green’s suspension to be of 10 games and adding the earlier 5 games, the luxury taxes saved would be $519,555*15, which stands at a whopping $7,793,325.
At the beginning of the season, the Warriors were projected to have a luxury tax bill of $167,570,675. If the suspension lasts 10 games, the Warriors are likely to save around $8 Million at least. However, if this suspension goes beyond 15 games, the luxury tax benefit would be higher. While the Warriors would suffer on-court, at least their luxury tax bill won’t be as high.
As of now, they have already managed to save around $3,117,330 from the 6 games that Green has already missed. Hence, while there are plenty of reasons to be worried as far as the fans are concerned, the Warriors themselves will be saving some money.
Draymond Green’s suspension can be a windfall for the Warriors
As proven above, the fans are bound to be concerned, considering Green’s importance to the team. However, there is a positive for the franchise in all of this. The suspension might be a blessing in disguise as the Warriors could end up saving close to $8 million, at the very least.
That, of course, does not take into account the kind of importance that Green brings on-court. One of the three spearheads of the Warriors’ dynasty, Green’s absence also gives the Dubs’ youngsters a chance to show off their talent.
That most notably includes Jonathan Kuminga, who was especially impressive during the Dubs’ loss against the Clippers. Steve Kerr already praised the youngster for the same. As more games go by, JK would only get better. And the icing of the cake would be that Dray would return with extra motivation to change the narrative around his season.
