The dreaded luxury tax has affected roster construction in the NBA since its inception.
It's hurt teams that weren't scared of it, like the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers, and teams that do fear it, like the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores was asked about it since his team sits just $5 million beneath the threshold entering next season. Being in that position is even more relevant when you consider Kentavious Caldwell-Pope‘s eligibility for an extension.
Gores told Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press:
“Look, if we weren't building a core, there's really no point in paying the luxury tax. Because we are building a core, would I do it? Yeah, absolutely.”
Pope has increased his scoring in each of his first three seasons from 5.9 per game as a rookie to 12.7 in his second year and then to 14.5 last year. His three-point shooting did dip last year from 34.5% a couple of seasons ago to 30.9%, but he's still a young player with a lot of promise, especially when you consider what he can do defensively as well.
Gores went on:
“Part of Stan's coaching philosophy obviously is defense. So you say go into the luxury tax for nothing, then that would be silly because then we're putting the franchise behind. But given that we have such a good core, if that’s what it took, and we feel we've made such progress this year, I wouldn't hesitate to do it because we want to keep getting better.”
Any team needs to be careful entering the luxury tax because of the roster-building restraints that are put to those in the penalty zone. Because of it, teams can't offer free agents as much money, so they really need to be sure before deciding or get extra creative.
The Pistons seem happy with what they're building and if they believe Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is a key piece in their future, maybe going into the luxury tax for him will be worth it.
Follow Us
Subscribe