Why is it so difficult to form a "consecutive championship team" from the Warriors to the Celtics?

In the 2018-19 season, the Golden State Warriors' goal was clear and they won three consecutive championships.

After all, their lineup is essentially the 73-win team in the 15-16 season + Durant, who is at the peak of his career.

The "burden" Barnes at a critical moment in the 16th finals was directly upgraded to "Death" Kevin Durant, which can be called a "cheating" level reinforcement. Before

, although their two consecutive championships were in a row, it seemed that the opponents in the entire league were waiting for them to collapse on their own rather than challenging them.

They also did a big thing during the offseason. Cousins, who was 28 years old when he was signed with a middle-class contract, suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon the previous season and failed to renew his contract with the Pelicans.

This versatile center averaged 25.8 points, 12.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game in the 17-18 season. In the injury game, he led the team to kill the Rockets. At that time, the Warriors' biggest enemy in the West was at that time.

Even though Cousins ​​had to rest for another half a season before he could make the appearance, even though the Warriors' substitute lineup was already the lowest level in the league at that time.

But most people believe that they are the giants that no one in the league can challenge.

But only the Warriors knew how difficult that year was. Not to mention the mental fatigue and slackness brought about by successive championships, the salary composition was already extremely unhealthy at that time.

The salary of five people, Curry, Durant, Clay, Zhu Meng and Iguodala, has reached 119 million yuan, while that year the league's salary cap was only 102 million yuan and the luxury tax line was 123 million yuan.

Plus another "Xuanming Two Elders" Livingston and Cousins ​​have a total salary of 13.6 million yuan, so the Warriors can only find some people like Jerebko, Cook, McKinney to fill the list.

At that time, the Warriors' rotation time had a very appropriate title, "Four dishes and one soup".

Of course, things on the lineup are trivial, and problems in the locker room are big trouble.

The last year, Durant, Clay and Zhuang Meng had the last year left. Curry's five-year, 201 million contract had just begun. Considering the team's financial crisis (there was no longer enough to supplement the new players in the 18-19 season), the choice in front of everyone was:

Du Zhui Tang, choose two of three unless someone cuts the salary significantly.

We all know the story later. When chasing dreams and inventing the "closed loop of winning the championship", Durant's heart was broken.

The first round of the playoffs can be reversed by the Clippers in the reconstruction period by 31 points. The only way Kerr can come up with is "Durant, think of a way."

From the fifth game against the Clippers, Adu's playing time soared to 41, 42, 43, 44, 49 and 43 minutes. Finally, he was muscle strained in the battle against the Rockets. He broke his Achilles tendon in the quarter and a half after returning to the finals.

Clay returned to the front line after a thigh muscle strain in G2 in the finals (similar to Curry and Gordon this year) and suffered a cruciate ligament rupture in G6.

The collapse of the Warriors in 19 seems to be an injury, but the core reason is the internal contradictions caused by the accumulation of salary structures.

In the same season, the Boston Celtics were cleanly 4-1 by the Bucks in the Eastern Conference semi-finals, and basically confirmed that the Celtics' idea of ​​building a team with Irving as the core completely failed. After the end of the season, not only did Irving leave the team, but Morris Jr., Rozier, Horford and other first-generation Stevens officials left the team one after another, and the team officially changed course and established a team around the pair of Tatum Jaylen.

From the subsequent 19-20 season to the end of this season, you really can't say that the Celtics with the double-Tanhua as the core are failures.

They won 317 regular season games in six seasons, ranking first in the league during the same period. One championship, one final, two division finals, one semifinal, and one first round.

In the past six years, the Celtics have been the most stable team in the league, no doubt about it.

Tatum and Jaylen are also doing well. The former gradually grew into one of the most comprehensive young forwards in the league. In terms of output and efficiency, they gradually entered the "five greats" of the league, becoming one of the facades of the Celtics and even the NBA.

The latter is transformed into a "mirror version of Pippen". His attack and key ball ability make up for Tatum's shortcomings in this regard. His output is not outstanding but extremely critical. He averaged 23.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game in the past six seasons, four All-Stars, one second team in the league, and one finals MVP.

means that the Celtic, who is loyal to winning and team, can make him willingly stay by Tatum as the second in command.

But while the Celtics were moving forward, the pressure on management was getting stronger and stronger.

Jaylen Brown entered the second team of the league in the 22-23 season, giving him the right to renew his contract with the team in advance with the maximum salary of a "designated veteran" in the 2023 offseason. The 5-year, 306 million contract not only made him the first "Mr. 300 million" in the league to have a single contract, but also completely put the Celtics on the fire.

was given to Jaylen, how could he not give it to Tatum?

Sure enough, shortly after the team won the 18th championship in team history in 2024, the team renewed its contract with Tatum for 5 years of 315 million yuan with the same specification.

This also means that from the 25-26 season, the Double Tanhua will take $107 million from the team every year to base the base, and by the 28-29 season, this number will expand to 131 million.

In fact, since Jaylen Brown signed this contract in 2023, the Celtic "Double Tanhua" combination is impossible to last forever.

Starting from 2025, the two will occupy 70% of the team's salary cap space, while others can only divide the remaining 30% (without considering the Bird clause).

In recent years, Stevens has been a dojo in the snail lion's shell and is very good at dancing.

He Porzingis reduced his salary and renewed his contract for 60 million for two years, and He Zhu Ge Holiday reduced his contract for 135 million for four years by "total amount for unit price", and stayed with Horford for two years for two years and 19.5 million for two years.

is to try to extend the team's winning window before the new contract of Double Tanhua is executed.

But old comrades can give up some money for honor, but the newcomers are not that easy to talk to. Substitute Prichard in four years and Hauser in four years 45 million.

If no changes are made before the start of next season, the team's current contracts will reach 231 million yuan and luxury tax will be 263 million yuan, and this item alone will cost nearly 500 million US dollars.

Now know why Grosbeck is in a hurry to sell the team.

So this year is really the last window for the Celtics to win the championship. Even if they complete the defense, they will most likely send away at least two of Jaylen Brown, Holiday and Posses away in the offseason to make the team sustainable in the future.

didn't think about winning three consecutive championships to build a dynasty, but now it seems that they can't even defend their title.

This is the current NBA. It is inevitable that high investment will be made to form a championship lineup. The team's top rank is 50 million (sometimes more than one), and the left and right hands and second and third-rank characters are at least 20 to 30 million. In addition, the other starting players and rotations are 67 to 8, and they have to prepare for a base of 50 million, and they have to consider filling the 14-man roster.

It can be said that if you want to form a championship team, the total salary is at least at the first tyrant line (178 million) and the second tyrant line (188 million).

Tickets that reached the last division final this year are second in the Timberwolves 202 million league (second only to the Suns) and 188 million in New York (fifth in the league).

Some people say that Pacers 169 million (No. 17) and Thunder 165 million (No. 25) wouldn’t it be slap you in the face?

Haha, that's because the Pacers' third figure Turner is still holding a cheap contract of less than 20 million, while the main players such as Mathering and Nemhard are also holding a rookie contract.

Next year, when Turner and Matherin renew their contracts, Nemhard's three-year, $58 million contract will be launched, and the Pacers will also fall into the NBA version of the "Thucydides Trap". The Thunder are even more exaggerated. The lineup is now extremely strong because the team's second and third characters Jaylen Williams (6.58 million) and Chet Holmegren (13.73 million) are still holding rookie contracts.

The team boss and new MVP Alexander's annual salary is only 3,580, but when his contract expires in 2027, he will be eligible to get a 4-year, $294 million super contract.

At that time, the Thunder will fall into the dilemma of the third young master doing "three choices and two multiple-choice questions.

So to be honest, the Thunder's winning window period is only 2024-2027 for only three years.

With this analysis, you will know how difficult it is to achieve the title defense under the current NBA game rules.