They won. But 40% of the payroll is sitting out.
Steph Curry scored 44 on Wednesday night. Three other Warriors, paid $89.3 million between them, did not play at all.
119
at
114
Stephen Curry44 points, 16 of 16 on free throws
Out of every $100 the Warriors pay, about $40 goes to a man on the bench in a suit.
The Warriors pay their players $220.8 million this season. Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody and Kristaps Porzingis are all listed Out.
Together they cost $89.3 million. That is 40.45% of the bill.
Source: salary trackers (Capsheets, JJNBA, Spotrac, all matching) and the ESPN injury report.
Each square is 1% of the payroll. Red squares are players listed Out.
Butler $56.83M, Porzingis $20.00M, Moody $12.50M. Total $89.33M of $220.84M. 2026-27 regular season.
Why each one is out is a different story. The price tag is the same kind of problem.
Butler tore his right ACL on Jan. 19. He is paid $56.83 million, the second-biggest deal on the team.
Moody tore a patellar tendon in his left knee, announced Mar. 24. He earns $12.50 million.
Porzingis is away from the team for a private health matter. He earns $20.00 million.
No team-confirmed return dates exist for any of them, so this page does not guess any.
The biggest salaries on the roster, in millions of dollars
Cap hits for 2026-27. Source: Spotrac and JJNBA. Injury status: ESPN.
The league draws four lines on the floor. Golden State is standing on the last one.
The salary cap is $164.96 million. Spend more and you pay a tax. Spend a lot more and the rules start taking things away.
The Warriors' payroll is $220.84 million. That is over the tax line, over the first apron, and just under the second apron.
Apron is the league's word for a spending line. Cap and line numbers: HoopsRumors, JJNBA.
The Warriors' payroll against the league's four lines, in millions
Bars start at zero. 2026-27 thresholds. Payroll is a tracker estimate.
Being $20.4 million over the tax line costs about $86.2M in tax.
The tax is not a flat fee. It grows with every dollar over the line, and it grows faster for teams that keep paying it.
The Warriors have paid in three of the last four years, so they get the higher "repeater" rate. Add the tax to the payroll and the season costs about $307.1 million.
The $86.2M is a tracker estimate (Capsheets and JJNBA agree within $21). The league sets the real bill. We did not read the contract text itself.
What the season costs the owner, in millions
Rounded. Soft ends mean an estimate.
The team has about $0.3M of room before it hits a wall it cannot cross.
Room under the second apron is $347,568. That counts a $500,000 bonus the team does not expect to pay.
The Warriors are already over the first apron, so in a trade they cannot take back more salary than they send out. The second apron is a hard ceiling above that.
Trackers disagree on one thing: salaryswish shows a higher payroll ($227.66M) and "no hard cap". Treat the exact room as contested. Rule summaries come from trackers, not the contract text.
Room left under the second apron, in dollars
The comparison bar is one of four $2.45M deals (Payton II, Niang, Bassey, Williams). The room would not cover one.
Wednesday's win was closer than it looks, and free throws decided it.
Golden State led by 24 and was up 16 at halftime. Then Minnesota outscored them 66-55 in the second half.
The Warriors made 30 free throws. Minnesota made 19. From the field, Minnesota actually scored more, 95 points to 89.
Minnesota played without Anthony Edwards, who is out until at least December after knee surgery.
Warriors' lead after each quarter
Quarters: GSW 30, 34, 29, 26. MIN 23, 25, 33, 33. Source: ESPN box score.
The best-value player is already on the roster.
Yaxel Lendeborg was the No. 11 pick in June. His cap hit is $6.10 million.
In the last three games he scored 26, 31 and 26. Butler's cap hit is $56.83 million, about nine times as much.
Three games is a small sample. This is a note on the price, not a forecast.
Lendeborg's points, last three games
Yaxel Lendeborg$6.10M cap hit
Source: ESPN box scores, 2026-27 regular season.
The Warriors are reported to be shopping Porzingis. No one has said what they want back.
ESPN and The Athletic both reported on Oct. 21 that Golden State is exploring trades for him. The team declined to comment.
His deal is two years and $40 million, with only $3 million of next season guaranteed. He came over in the February trade that sent Jonathan Kuminga to Atlanta.
This is reported, not confirmed. No terms have been reported. Kuminga, now in Minnesota, scored 20 against his old team on Wednesday.
What is known, and what is not
Hatched means nobody has reported a number.
Next up is the Lakers on Friday. The real test runs until New Year's.
Golden State is 2-3 and 10th in the West. The Lakers are 4-1. ESPN gives the Warriors a 49.4% chance on Friday, Oct. 30, in an NBA Cup game.
Our test: if the Warriors hold a winning record through Dec. 31 without moving Porzingis, the idea that they must trade was wrong.
That threshold is this desk's own, not an outside forecast.
Margin in the Warriors' first five games (points)
Opponents, not dates, to avoid time-zone confusion. Sum of margins: -9. Source: ESPN.
Four numbers to carry out the door
of the payroll is on three players listed Out.
Trackers and ESPNestimated tax bill, at the higher repeater rate.
Capsheets, JJNBAof room left under the second apron.
Capsheets, JJNBA, Spotracfree throws made, Warriors vs Timberwolves.
ESPN box score