To all you guys advocating that swapping Hayward for Gobert would be a realistic option
For the sake of discussion, let's assume that:
- We trade Hayward + #14 + #26 for Gobert + Niang (salary filler on expiring contract).
- The cap plateaus at $109,140,000 for 2 seasons, due to the impending recession.
- Tatum and Gobert re-sign with the C's in 2021 for the 30% max.
- Next year's pick ends up at #26 (just like this year).
- We let Theis walk in 2021.
- We fill the remaining roster spots with rookie minimum contracts (best case scenario regarding the tax situation).
payroll for 2021/22:
1. Kemba $36,016,200
2. Gobert $32,742,000 (=30% of the cap)
3. Tatum $32,742,000 (=30% of the cap)
4. Brown $25,794,643
5. Smart $13,839,285
6. Langford $3,804,360
7. R. Williams $3,661,976
8. G. Williams $2,617,800
9. Celtics 2021 pick $2,331,600
10. Bucks pick $2,142,240
11. Edwards $1,782,621
12. rookie minimum $1,028,851
13. rookie minimum $1,028,851
14. rookie minimum $1,028,851
15. rookie minimum $1,028,851
dead cap
Yabu $1,039,080
Jackson $92,857
total: $162,722,066
Luxury Tax Threshold: $132,627,000
The Celtics would be $30,095,066 over the tax line!
For a non-repeater, the tax breaks down like this:
150% for amounts up to $5 million over the threshold
175% from $5-10 million.
250% from $10-15 million.
325% from $15-20 million.
375% from $20-25 million.
425% from $25-30 million.
475% from $30-35 million.
and so on
$7,500,000 + $8,750,000 + $12,500,000 + $16,250,000 + $18,750,000 + $21,250,000 + $451,563.5 = $85,451,563.5 in luxury tax!
Fwiw, the biggest amount ever paid in luxury tax is $61.6 million (by the Thunder in 2018/19).
tl;dr
In this scenario, the Celtics would have to pay ~$85 million in luxury tax!