3 Instant Reactions to Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole Contract Extensions with Warriors

The Golden State Warriors have signed Andrew Wiggins to a massive extension that ties him to the team for the next five seasons, per ESPN's Kendra Andrews and Adrian Wojnarowski.

That news followed a report from Wojnarowski that the Warriors and Jordan Poole agreed to a four-year, $140 million extension.

Here are three instant reactions to those moves as the Warriors look to defend their NBA title.

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Money Is No Obstacle to Winning

The Warriors will have to pay nearly half a billion in salary luxury tax dollars alone in 2023-24 after these moves, per Wojnarowski.

Stephen Curry is locked up through 2025-26. Klay Thompson is around for at least two more years, and Draymond Green will be as well unless he declines his player option. The Dubs also re-signed Kevon Looney, who will be in town through 2025.

Needless to say, the Warriors are one of those franchises that will pull out all the stops to win, money be damned. That isn't necessarily the case elsewhere in the league.

The Warriors' payroll is already No. 1 in the league for 2022-23, per HoopsHype.

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Beginning of the End for Thompson and/or Green?

Green and Thompson will be eligible for extensions shortly, but Marcus Thompson II and Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported last July that extending those veterans, plus Wiggins and Poole, would not be viable. In other words, there is at least some limit to how much governor Joe Lacob is willing to spend.

"But that just isn’t viable for the franchise, sources indicate. Extending all those players would lock in astronomical luxury-tax penalties — sling-shotting their total bill (salary plus tax) well above the record $362 million they paid this past season. They’d be entering a stratosphere that Lacob, transparently, has said he’s unwilling to touch."

Poole and Wiggins are locked in now, leaving questions as to whether the end could be near for Green and/or Thompson.

Sources told The Athletic that Green believes he is deserving of a max contract extension. However, they reported that the Dubs "have no plans to offer Green a maximum extension."

As for Thompson, he's at least locked in for two more years, and The Athletic reported that he's not "clamoring for a contract extension." Therefore, the Dubs can afford to wait a little bit on him.

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The Championship Window Stays Wide Open

Poole and Wiggins played integral parts in the Warriors' championship. Poole broke out with 18.5 points per game (17.0 PPG in the playoffs) in his third NBA season. Wiggins made and started his first All-Star Game en route to 17.2 PPG. He particularly excelled in the playoffs, when he dropped 18.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game in the NBA Finals.

The bottom line is that the Warriors proved last year that they could weather the storm even if the big three of Curry, Thompson and Green aren't all out on the court together for long stretches. Those three combined to miss 104 regular-season games, but the Warriors still finished third in the Western Conference thanks to Wiggins, Poole and others.

Of course, this also buys time for the younger Warriors (e.g., Jonathan Kuminga, James Wiseman) more time to develop and begin the next championship generation. At some point, Curry will pass the torch to the next group of Warriors, who could very well be ready to create their own dynasty someday.