Lacob explains Dubs' bench changes, financial limitations

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Joe Lacob is setting the record straight regarding the Warriors' roster construction and Golden State's financial limitations for the 2022-23 NBA season.

In an exclusive interview with The Athletic's Tim Kawakami, Lacob detailed how the Warriors are on "one timeline" and how they molded the roster around what the team could afford. 

"You have a roster that you try to put together given financial constraints and given what's available and what you get," Lacob told Kawakami. "And when you have the salary structure at the top of the roster like we do, which is huge, the bottom or lower half of the roster has to be either minimums or young players. 

"Either way, they're smaller salaries."

Lacob also acknowledged that last season's additions on minimum contracts, such as Otto Porter Jr., Nemanja Bjelica, and others, worked very well for coach Steve Kerr and general manager Bob Myers.

Still, Lacob said the Warriors did the best they could with the resources available this season.

"I thought we were very fortunate to get Donte DiVincenzo. I think he's fantastic. He's been incredible," Lacob continued. "He's not a minimum, but that really helped. You know, JaMychal [Green] is pretty good for a minimum contract. People don't understand."

With Golden State's financial restrictions, it challenged Myers to build a roster that could compete in the Western Conference. So, the Warriors turned to their recent draft picks.

"We went a little bit younger on the bottom end of the roster than maybe the coaching staff ideally like," Lacob said regarding the Warriors' bench. "But remember, we've also got a bunch of lottery picks. You don't get those too often if you're the Golden State Warriors.

"And we really like some of these guys."

In particular, Lacob praised the job 20-year-old Jonathan Kuminga did against Kawhi Leonard on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Clippers at Chase Center, Patrick Baldwin Jr.'s continued growth and Moses Moody's patience. 

Despite the younger-than-usual roster and Golden State's well-documented mediocre season thus far, Lacob is confident about what lies ahead for the Warriors. 

"So I'm feeling pretty good still about the way we put the roster together," Lacob said. "We made a move we had to make to try to win this year. And we'll see what happens."

The move Lacob referred to was trading former No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman to the Detroit Pistons which brought Gary Payton II back to the Bay Area. Though Golden State received a proven defensive commodity in Payton, Lacob believes trading away Wiseman could haunt the Warriors in the future.

For the time being, Payton's return saves the Warriors $7 million this season and roughly $30 million next season, money that could be used to bolster next year's roster.  

RELATED: Lacob wouldn't overrule Dubs braintrust on 'very hard' Wiseman trade

As the Warriors continue to build chemistry throughout the final stretch of the season, it is clear which direction the front office and ownership are heading after spending most of the season tinkering with lineups. 

And Warriors fans are hopeful that Golden State did enough to bring home another NBA championship. 

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