Superstars and bench thickness are like fish and bear's paws, in the case of a fixed salary cap, the more stars with the highest salary, the weaker the team's rotation will be, but obviously the management, including the coaching staff, believes that the number of stars is better than the depth of the bench, so the following teams can be understood!
No. 10: Timberwolves, Gobert, Towns, and Conley total 101 million, team proportion: 61%!
Goebel 41 million, Downs 36.02 million, Conley 24.36 million, this season is the best championship window for the Timberwolves, but it was closed because of Towns' injury, the reason is that next season, Downs' new contract will become $50.05 million after the new contract of $224 million takes effect, and Edwards' five-year $260 million will also change from $13.53 million to 40 million, and the total salary of the Timberwolves will be 40 million or 50 million.
Both of them have big contracts next season
Ninth place: Pelicans, Fat Tiger, Ingram, McCollum total 103 million, proportion: 62%!
The Pelicans also have three top-paid players, but Ingram and Fat Tiger failed to trigger the Rose clause and only got an ordinary cap salary of 25% of the salary cap, and McCollum's contract is decreasing year by year, 35.8 million this season, 33.33 million next season, and 30.67 million in the 25-26 season, so the Pelicans have no salary pressure, and the question is only whether this trio can produce results.
Eighth place: Green Army, Holiday , Tatum, and Platinum total 105 million, accounting for: 57%!
The total salary of the Celtics trio accounts for only 57%, the reason is that Holiday 36.86 million, Platinum 36.02 million, Tatum 32.6 million and Jaylen Brown 28.43 million US dollars, for which the total salary of the Green Army is 187 million and 40 million luxury tax is paid, and Brown will take effect in 5 years and 304 million US dollars next season, and then Tatum's contract extension will definitely not be lower than Brown, after the Celtics lose the bench lineup advantage, it is estimated that it will be difficult to win the championship with these two brothers alone.
There is no excuse for the failure of this lineup
Seventh place: Lakers, James, Davis, Russell total 105 million, proportion: 63%!
The same 105 million Green Army accounts for only 57% and the Lakers are as high as 63%, James 47.61 million, Davis 40.6 million, Russell 17.31 million, but the Lakers Princes, Wood, Reddish, Dinwiddie, Hayes and others are all base salaries or close to base salaries, so the Lakers' luxury tax of only 7.05 million is far lower than the Celtics.
Sixth place: 76ers, Embiid, Harris, and Hield total 106 million, accounting for 60%!
The 76ers have a very strong lineup, except for Embiid, Maxey and Paul Reed, everyone else such as Harris, Hield, Batum, Covington, etc. will become full free agents on July 1 this year, and you can imagine how much space will be freed up at that time.
What will happen to these two plus Paul George?
Fifth place: Nuggets, total, Murray, Porter Jr. total 115 million, proportion: 65%!
Jokic is 270 million for 5 years, Murray is 170 million for 5 years, and Porter Jr. is 173 million for 5 years, but fortunately, the last two maximum salary contracts were signed earlier, so the Nuggets signed 22.27 million Gordon and 14.7 million Pope, and the current Nuggets luxury tax is 22.74 million US dollars, which will be in this range for the next two years.
Fourth place: Bucks, Lillard, Brother Alphabet, Middleton total 120 million, proportion: 65%!
Brother Alphabet's five-year $228 million expires in the summer of 2026, Lillard's two-year contract extension expires in the summer of 2027 after $121 million, Middleton's three-year contract extension expires in the summer of 2026, and the Bucks also have a $25 million Lopez, the Bucks' luxury tax of $49.15 million this season ranks fourth in the league, and if the current roster is maintained, the Bucks luxury tax will have to be paid at least until the summer of 2026.
This year's playoffs will show whether Rivers' coaching level has improved
Third place: Warriors, Curry, Thompson, Paul total 126 million, proportion: 61%!
The Warriors' 126 million accounts for only 61%, the reason is that in addition to Curry, Thompson, Paul, the Warriors also have 24.33 million Wiggins and 22.32 million Green, and Kuminga will sign a big contract without accident, and the Warriors' luxury tax has been as high as $172.8 million this season, so one or two of the four Thompson, Paul, Wiggins and Green must leave.
Second place: Clippers, Leonard, George, and Harden total 126 million, accounting for 65%!
George 45.64 million, Leonard 45.64 million, Harden 35.86 million, the Clippers' total salary is second only to the Warriors, but Leonard has taken the lead in reducing his salary, Harden will most likely reduce his salary in the offseason to stay with the team, plus Tucker's 11.54 million can be traded or deferred after buyout, so even if Paul George renews his contract with the highest salary, the Clippers will still be able to free up about 10 million space next season.
Leonard's pay cut didn't bring George along
First place: Suns, Durant, Booker, Beal total 130 million, proportion: 70%!
The Warriors' luxury tax is 172.8 million, the Clippers' luxury tax is 113.7 million, and the Suns' trio have higher salaries, but the team's luxury tax is only $64.16 million, the reason is that the Suns' salary accounts for as much as 70%, and in addition to these three, Gordon, Okogie, Roddy, Bol, Eubanks, etc. are all base salaries or close to base salaries.
Durant 4-year $194 million expires in 2026, Booker 4-year $224 million expires in 2028, Beal 5-year $251 million expires in 2027, the Suns are in exactly the same situation as the Bucks, Lillard, and Middleton!