NBA mailbag: Are Warriors in luxury tax or not?

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Mailtime I was wondering what the salary capluxury taximplications are for the Warriors after signing Carl Landry and re-signingBrandon Rush. Wont the combined salaries of Landry and Rush push the Warriorsinto the luxury tax? Mark, Bay Area.Steinmetz: All right, heres the thing about theluxury tax and where the Warriors areit doesnt matter right now; you could argue it's irrelevant.Yes, the Warriors are into the tax right nowas of Aug. 3 but they have more than eight months to get under the tax if need be. And inall probability and likelihood, when push comes to shove in mid-April theWarriors wont be in the tax.There are countless ways the Warriors could get back underthe tax, and theyve clearly left themselves wiggle room to get underor, tobe fair, go deeper into the taxif they want.It still remains remote that the Warriors will end up in theluxury tax70.3 million -- when the appropriate time comes to compute suchthings (April 17). If you want the biggest reason why the Warriors won't be a tax team this season it's this: They don't need to be. And I'm right with them on that one.Right now, the Warriors are said to be approximately400,000 over the tax. That would mean they would have to pay a 400,000penalty, but more important they wouldnt be allowed to receive their share ofthe revenue collected from tax-paying teams that then gets disbursed tonon-taxpaying teams.When you think about it that way, you can be giving upmillions and millions of dollars.Just cant see that happening. Then again, Ill say this:the fact that were even addressing whether or not the Warriors could go intothe luxury tax is a positive change from the past.So, if the Warriors dont bring back DominicMcGuire, who do you think will? Im sure hell be picked up by someone.Matthew, San FranciscoWashington, D.C.Steinmetz: Heres the thing about McGuirehe hadmore of a role than he should have had with the Warriors last season. Andbecause he had more of a role than he should have had, he got an opportunity todo some things (like play point forward and be on the court during crunch time,etc.) that he wouldnt ordinarily have had.Did he prove he could do them? Well, yes, but keep in mindhe was doing them for a team that finished 23-43, and not really even that goodthe final month-plus of the season.What Im getting to here is that I believe McGuiresrelevance on the team last year was skewed because of all the injuries and theopportunities he received. In all likelihood, hes not going to receive themthis year.Also, the Warriors have a re-signed Rush, a second-yearplayer in Klay Thompson, a rookie in Harrison Barnes, a second rookie they likein Draymond Green and a legitimate backup four in Carl Landry. Im not surethat I want McGuire taking minutes from any of those guysspecialist ornot.The reality is that McGuire wasnt on a roster last yearwhen the Warriors brought him in. Even coach Mark Jackson would refer to him asa guy who was just sitting around When the Warriors signed McGuire.Taking nothing away from the season McGuire had a year ago,Im just not sure hes as good of a fit on this years team as last. Plus, Imnot saying McGuire isnt good enough to be in the league; in fact, where Ireally seem him fitting in is on an elite-type team.By what general manager Bob Myers said, it seemslike if the Warriors dont make the playoffs Mark Jackson is gone. Do youagree? Daniel, California.Steinmetz: Without trying to be cute or making funof your questionbecause it is a good oneId say this: Welcome to theNBA.Facts are facts and NBA coaches dont have unlimited lifespans. Mark Jackson, whether it was his fault or not, coached the Warriors to a23-43 record in 2011-12.Its only fair, particularly after the offseason theWarriors had, to expect and even demand more. Lets face it, if the Warriorsarent in the Western Conference playoff hunt this upcoming season it meansthat something went drastically wrong.Soyou know what? Yes, I think if the Warriors dont makethe playoffs Jackson could be in trouble. How could he not be in this day andage of the NBA? Heck, he could be in trouble if the Warriors are doing poorlyhalfway through the season.But that goes for plenty of NBA coaches.Is there pressure on Mark Jackson? Yes, there is. More thanlast year? Yes, definitely. But thats the way it should be when the team yourecoaching clearly improved in the offseason.

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