Trail Blazers leads NBA in luxury tax penalties

The Portland Trail Blazers luxury tax bill came due today. There is good news and bad news as the receipt spreads.

First, the bad news. Despite a one-season train crash, saved only by their impressive performances in eight regular-season games in the Orlando bubble, the Blazers paid more luxury salary and penalty tax than any team in the NBA.

Let that sink in for a moment. The NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers – with LeBron James, Anthony Davis and a win 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 mostly dead $ 38 million contract with John Wall, paid less than the Blazers.

And you, Boston?

We knew it was going to happen, but it still hurts to see it in black and white.

BUT … there is also some good news. Paying money isn’t the only downside to going over the tax threshold. Penalty dollars are redistributed among non-taxpaying teams, a benefit that can run into the millions for recipients.

But not this year. With so few teams exceeding the limit – by relatively modest amounts, on top of that – the bonus for each non-taxing team is less than $ 200,000.

In short, the Blazers haven’t missed much. Their net loss is approximately $ 5.3 million. If they had to cross the threshold, that was the season and the way to go.