The Golden State Warriors won a championship with a relatively young squad, and it came at a time just before the massive spike in the salary cap, making their attempts to keep everyone happy with new deals more difficult than under normal circumstances.
The Warriors signed Klay Thompson on a max deal that now almost looks like a bargain before the 2014-2015 season began, and Draymond Green signing an $82 million, five year contract after the championship doesn’t seem like such a blow considering the salary cap from 2016 onward.
But the deals the Warriors are going to be signing and handing out next will no longer seem like change. Stephen Curry is on contract until 2017, so there’s time before that potentially turns into a mess. Andre Iguodala, who like Curry is making around $11 million a season, doesn’t hit free agency until 2017, but his bargaining power isn’t as strong as Curry’s obviously.
So who do the Warriors have to worry about in the immediate future? Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli. Barnes went back to the lineup last season under Steve Kerr and took his game to the next level in his third season, although he remains inconsistent in a number of aspects. Festus Ezeli is great in the few minutes he does play and played a small but important part in the finals, but how necessary and irreplaceable is he?
The Warriors are going to try and sign an extension with the both of them before November 2 and try not to let this move into the next offseason, when both of them are restricted free agents. The Warriors are hoping they can get Barnes for around $14 million or $15 million a season once his rookie deal ends, and Ezeli for somewhere between $5 million and $7 million.