The Golden State Warriors just set an NBA record for total payroll, combining nearly $176 million in salary with another $170 million in luxury-tax penalties. They'll blow past that unprecedented number again next season despite letting Gary Payton II walk in free agency, with $184 million in guaranteed salary already on the books for 2022-23.

Needless to say, Golden State owner Joe Lacob isn't exactly averse to spending.

It paid off in a big way last season, too, as the Warriors won their fourth title in eight years in part due to Andrew Wiggins' palpable impact on both sides of the ball. Wiggins, remember, was acquired at the 2020 trade deadline in a franchise-changing swap for D'Angelo Russell, who took the salary slot previously occupied by Kevin Durant when he bailed on Golden State for the Brooklyn Nets three years ago.

Criticism of the Warriors buying another championship rings hollow. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are homegrown stars, and the Dubs found Jordan Poole late in the first round of the 2019 draft. Wiggins was the only vital piece of Golden State's title-winning core who wasn't drafted by the organization. His presence on the roster is indeed a ringing endorsement of Lacob's willingness to spend.

Other owners would've been content letting Durant head to the Nets without maintaining his salary slot, confident a skyrocketing payroll around Curry, Thompson and Green would be enough to compete. But the Warriors thought big-picture and spent big money instead, bringing in Russell via sign-and-trade before moving him again for a wing who better filled the massive void left by Durant.

Still riding the high of his team's most recent coronation, Lacob appeared on this week's episode of Point Forward with Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner, waxing poetic on the “one thing” he cares about for “the rest of [his] life.”

“The truth of the matter is I'm about only one thing the rest of my life, and that's winning and winning championships. I'm maniacal, that's all I care about. That's it.”

Say what you will about Lacob's checkbook suddenly vanishing when it came time to pay up for Payton. His passion for winning was at least somewhat mitigated by the prospect of shelling out some $60 million to bring Payton back to The Bay. Chase Center, as the now-tired cliché goes, is printing money as we speak.

On the other hand, Golden State did use part of the taxpayer's mid-level exception to sign Donte DiVincenzo, a snug fit as Payton's replacement. The Warriors didn't draft Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga in the lottery to have them watch from the bench, either. Both deserve the chance to earn rotation minutes next season that were vacated by Golden State's departures in free agency.

Bottom line: The league would be a better place if every billionaire owner was as committed to winning as Lacob. Kudos to him for addressing it so directly.

Now let's see how much deeper Lacob reaches into his pockets as the Warriors—who will face decisions on both Wiggins and Poole next summer—get more and more expensive in coming years.