NBA salary cap exercise: What player would every team amnesty?

Golden State Warriors – Kevon Looney

For the Golden State Warriors this is about saving luxury tax dollars. With a plump payroll of $148.9 million next season free agency will not be a real option. Whether or not they should keep Draymond Green given the slide in his production can be up for debate but the ripple effect on the locker room could be devastating for a team looking to make a return to contention next season.

Say what you will about the terrible contract for Andrew Wiggins but they traded for him because they believe in him so I will let them see that first. If we are not eliminating one of their top four salaries Kevon Looney makes the most sense to move on from.

Looney is set to be $4.8 million next year with a player option for $5.2 million the following season. Given their situation in the repeater tax each dollar over the cap counts for 2.75 tax dollars. Moving on from Looney would save the team $27.5 million over two seasons.

Looney has struggled with injuries all year but even before that was really only paid for a strong postseason with the team. His production has always been sporadic at best. While his contract number is not bad in a vacuum the cap implications make the dollars troubling. Should they take someone like James Wiseman in the draft this year this becomes even easier to stomach.