<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><span id="default"><span id="CCT_Article">OAKLAND -- Maybe next summer Chris Mullin can tour the Beltway lecture circuit. While the federal government continues its runaway deficit spending, the Warriors' executive vice president has engineered one of the NBA's most impressive financial turnarounds in recent memory. In doing so, Mullin also transformed his own standing among Warriors fans, going from being lambasted for lavishing midlevel talents with superstar contracts to being lauded for his impressive fiscal restraint.</p> But even though he has saved tens of millions of dollars over the past year by trading away or buying out longtime Warriors such as Jason Richardson, Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy and Adonal Foyle -- all of whom received big-money, multiyear deals from Mullin -- Mullin said the moves were not a matter of shedding salary just for the sake of the bottom line.</p> "(It was) for the simple fact that we weren't winning games," Mullin said.</p> Now, the Warriors are enjoying the best of both worlds. Coming off their first playoff appearance in 13 seasons, Golden State is also in its best financial shape in probably the same amount of time.</p> The Warriors have plummeted from nearly cracking the league's top 10 in terms of total payroll to the bottom third, giving themselves plenty of room to maneuver under the NBA's salary-cap rules and luxury-tax limit. They have approximately $47 million in commitments for 2008-09, and that's assuming Baron Davis picks up his $17.2 million option. The salary cap for <span id="default"><span id="CCT_Article">that season likely will be in the neighborhood of $57 million, and the luxury-tax threshold could reach $70 million. Does Mullin want to sign Davis to a contract extension before training camp begins Tuesday? Does Mullin want to lock up center Andris Biedrins before he can hit the free-agent market next summer? Does Mullin want to be ready in case another team's star, such as Washington's Gilbert Arenas or Sacramento's Ron Artest, exercises an opt-out and becomes available in 2008?</div></p> Source: Contra Costa Times</p> </span></span></p> </span></span></p>
