The Portland Trail Blazers’ luxury tax bill came due today. There’s good news and bad news as the receipt spills out.
First, the bad news. Despite a train wreck of a season, saved only by their impressive performance over eight regular-season games in the Orlando Bubble, the Blazers paid more salary and luxury tax penalty than any team in the NBA.
NBA tax bills for 2019-20, as distributed to teams today:
Portland $5,082,084
Miami $2,461,242
Oklahoma City $2,102,278
Minnesota $497,502— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) November 12, 2020
Let’s let that sink in for a moment. The NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers—with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and a victory over the Blazers in the first round of the 2020 NBA Playoffs in tow—paid less than the Blazers. The Houston Rockets, carrying Russell Westbrook and James Harden, paid less than the Blazers. The Washington Wizards, with a $38 million essentially dead John Wall contract as their centerpiece, paid less than the Blazers.
Et tu, Boston?
We knew this was coming, but it still hurts to see it in black and white.
BUT…there’s good news too. Paying out money isn’t the only drawback to exceeding the tax threshold. Penalty dollars are redistributed among non-taxpaying teams, a perk which can amount to millions for recipients.
Not this year, though. With so few teams over the limit—by relatively modest amounts, at that—the bonus for each non-taxpaying team amounts to less than $200,000.
Four teams: Miami, Minnesota, Oklahoma City and Portland paid a tax.
Tax distribution for the 26 teams below = $195,060
That is the lowest amount since the tax was introduced in 2002-03
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) November 12, 2020
In short, the Blazers didn’t miss out on much. Their net loss is around $5.3 million. If they were going to exceed the threshold, this was the season, and the way, to do it.
