That the Warriors had to play their game with only eight healthy players is probably enough to indicate just how much they’ve fallen off from their Finals’ runs, but here’s perhaps the most shocking number, first noted by Jazz fan Ken Clayton: $11,800,045.
Of Golden State’s $138,553,076 payroll to begin the season, that’s the combined salary of all eight players that remained healthy for the Warriors’ game against the Jazz Friday. Injuries to Stephen Curry ($40M), Klay Thompson ($33M), D’Angelo Russell ($27M), Draymond Green, (19M), Kevon Looney ($5M), Jacob Evans ($2M), Alen Smailagic (1M) and two-way player Damion Lee (about 150K so far) knock off the rest.
So who is the Warriors player who makes the most money of those eight players remaining? Former Utah Jazz guard Alec Burks, who is making the NBA’s 8-year veteran minimum of $2.3M.
The player making the least? Two-way player Ky Bowman, who has started four games this year. Two-way players can bounce between the G-League and the NBA, staying at the latter for a maximum of 45 days. For each day they spend at each place, they earn the prorated daily salary for whatever league they’re playing in: in the G-League, it’s $79K, while in the NBA, it’s $898K.
This led some to worry if Ky Bowman would be able to afford rent in San Francisco, which is notoriously expensive. If Bowman had spent his entire two-way season with the G-League squad, or only spent a few days on the NBA roster, he even would have qualified for San Francisco’s low-income housing program.
Luckily, he lives in a team-provided hotel room, so he’s good to go either way. And thanks to the Warriors’ injury woes, he’s ensured he’ll make at least a few hundred thousand dollars to go with his on-court NBA chance.
What does Juwan Morgan bring?
On Thursday, the Jazz waived 15th man Stanton Kidd and signed Juwan Morgan, who has played five games with the SLC Stars this season.
Morgan has excelled, though. He’s shooting 71.8% from the field and even averaging eight rebounds per game as a 6-foot-7 bulky forward, one who has even played some center for the Stars this year.
“I think he’s got an approach, a work ethic and a mindset that we value, and that usually leads to your ability to impact the game in a variety of ways,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “His ability to pass, his ability to defend — a different kind of way than a bigger guy, but taking angles and using his strength, and he’s got excellent hands."
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