Owner of the Warriors Joe Lacob: “Our first plan, or 1A, is that we want to leave the

This year, the Warriors will pay $172.8 million in luxury tax alone, more than the combined payroll of 17 NBA teams this season.

As the new CBA takes effect this summer, the consequences for individuals who exceed the tax become more severe. It’s not just the payouts, which owners like the Clippers’ Steve Ballmer may ignore, but it also limits team-building alternatives (increasing trade rules, limiting access to the buyout market). That is why the Warriors want to get beneath that line, and it is a team priority, Warriors governor Joe Lacob said on The TK Show with Tim Kawakami of The Athletic.

“Our Plan 1, or 1A, is that we want to be tax-free, and we believe we have a solution. That is part of the idea, not only under the second apron. I’ll explain why this is significant since, in order to remove this repeater item off our books, we need to be tax-free for two of the next four years. We do not want to be a repeat offender. It’s so prohibitive; not that we wouldn’t do it if we had to, but you’ve got to look at the downside of doing it.

So, that’s the idea, and we believe we can keep our team together and retain even the players who are there, as well as bring players back at other numbers.

This is in contrast to Lacob calling Lakers governor Jeanie Buss to test the waters of a LeBron James deal (which LeBron’s agent Rich Paul rejected). That would have been prohibitively expensive, but it is also the type of move in which money is not a consideration.

Reaching “Plan A” and avoiding the tax would not be easy. As of today, the Warriors have eight guaranteed contracts for next season worth approximately $137 million (if Gary Payton II exercises his $9.1 million option, which is a reasonable assumption), but this does not include new contracts for Klay Thompson, Chris Paul, or Kevon Looney.

The luxury tax threshold for next season is $172 million. Hypothetically, if Klay Thompson receives the same deal that Draymond Green received last summer (four years, $100 million), the Warriors will have around $10 million to fill the other five roster positions, all on minimum contracts.

It’s not impossible — not with things like Brandin Podziemski emerging and Thompson’s roles shrinking (and his contract cheaper) — but upgrading this core and returning to contender status while staying under the tax will be challenging. To say the least.