Meanwhile, Warriors coach Steve Kerr plans to be a spectator next season as his Super Team wreaks havoc on the league. We have experience dealing with it. We were the villains (in the Finals) so we will be more prepared. The first significant jump is in the process of taking place, with the million number for 2016-17 – a 34 percent raise on last season’s, by the way – ballooning player contracts to an extent some league followers have deemed irresponsible. He will be a free agent next summer, meaning he won’t clog up cap room.
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The Mavericks also landed ex-Warrior Harrison Barnes after Golden State renounced his rights, signing him to a four-year deal worth more than $90 million. The 32-year-old is coming off a career-best 69 starts with the Mavs, but he’s never averaged better than 0.5 blocks per game over his 13-year career and it seems unlikely Pachulia will be much of a defensive presence.
Bryant finished third in jersey sales behind Stephen Curry, who has had the league’s best-selling jersey for the past 16 months, and LeBron James.
McCaw, 20, was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 38th overall selection in the NBA Draft on June 23 and he was acquired by the Warriors that same night in exchange for cash consideration. They are joined by first-round pick Damian Jones, an athletic center with lots of upside, and second-round pick Patrick McCaw, a swingman who will earn $543,471 next season. He averaged a double-double in three consecutive seasons with Milwaukee from 2008-11.
Bogut was traded along with Stephen Jackson to the Warriors in exchange for Monta Ellis, Kwame Brown and Ekpe Udoh on March 13, 2012.
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Ayesha Curry, the wife of reigning unanimous MVP and Golden State Warriors star player Stephen Curry, admitted that her rant about the National Basketball Association during the finals was made during the heat of the moment.
