By Jeje Gomez | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2026-07-13 16:55:05
圣安东尼奥马刺重新签下了维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama)，这是所有人都预料之中的事。令人惊讶的是，作为公认的联盟前五球员，文班亚马决定选择接受一份普通的顶薪合同，而不是那份只要他满足某些很可能达成的条件就能让他赚得更多的合同。
虽然因为这份续约要到下赛季才开始生效，并不会立刻影响球队的薪资状况，但文班的决定确实在多个方面对马刺的未来发展有所帮助。
马刺在薪资状况方面获得了很大的确定性
尽管文班亚马的决定常被形容为降薪，但从技术角度讲这并不准确，至少目前还不是。文班亚马原本能签下的最高起薪是工资帽的25%，这也是他即将拿到的金额。这位外星人所放弃的，是如果他在2026/27赛季入选最佳阵容、赢得常规赛最有价值球员或最佳防守球员，就能将薪资提升至工资帽30%的可能性。
文班亚马达到其中某项标准本是大概率事件，毕竟他最近才全票当选了最佳防守球员并入选了最佳阵容一阵。不过，文班本赛季只是刚刚达到了评选奖项所要求的65场出勤门槛，因此也存在一种观点，认为健康问题本可能阻碍他拿到那30%的顶薪。即便如此，马刺也要到下赛季才能知道文班亚马究竟会占据多少薪资空间。
对马刺而言，最直接的好处就是他们获得了确定性。他们现在确知文班亚马最多只会占据工资帽的25%，并可以据此为未来做相应准备。此外，他们也避免了让文班亚马的健康和轮休情况与他的赚钱能力纠缠在一起的尴尬局面，但这算是个额外的好处了。
文班的牺牲可能会推迟做出痛苦决定的时间
薪资状况可预见性的增强，应该能让马刺将一些艰难的决定往后推。文班亚马在2027/28赛季的薪资将是4300万美元，而不是5400万美元。届时，马刺阵中11名球员的保障薪资总额约为2.02亿美元，其中包含卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 的部分保障合同，这将略低于预计为2.11亿美元的奢侈税线。而几条硬工资帽线则将设在奢侈税线之上。
理论上，马刺可以留下科内特，用一份更小的合同带回凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson)，并签下他们的首轮秀，同时不超过第二土豪线。如果约翰逊要求的薪资高于他们愿意支付的金额，他们可以放他离开，并用中产特例寻找替代者，这样很可能仍能保持在第一土豪线以下。如果他们想在签下首轮秀的同时避免缴纳奢侈税，也可以轻易做到，只需放走约翰逊，裁掉科内特以节省约700万美元，再用底薪合同填满阵容名单。
目前尚不清楚马刺是想要规避奢侈税，还是愿意在不超过第二土豪线的前提下缴纳它。文班亚马这份新续约合同的作用，在于很可能让马刺在做这两种选择时，都能保留住他们的核心轮换球员。至少就目前而言是这样。
薪资清算的时刻终究会来，但文班的牺牲可能会激励其他人为了留队而降薪
无论如何，文班亚马决定只拿25%的工资帽，这带来了可预见性，并可能推迟了一些艰难的决定，但那些艰难的决定依然会到来。马刺只能寄希望于文班亚马的牺牲能够激励其他人。
最终与达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 分道扬镳似乎不可避免，他此前以工资帽30%的金额续签了一份老将顶薪合同。因为随着那些小合同使得福克斯的巨额合同尚可忍受的年轻马刺球员身价渐长，情况会变得棘手。尤其是那两位最有可能拿到顶薪或接近顶薪合同的球员，也都是持球后卫。到了2028/29赛季，马刺将必须清理出薪资空间，为斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 的续约做准备。如果不能在那之前以交易福克斯换取到期合同为代价来释放空间，那么这次续约很可能会让他们牺牲掉阵容深度。这是无法逃避的现实。
文班亚马的决定所能影响的，是接下来会发生什么。需要澄清的是，卡斯尔和迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 无论最终签下多大的顶薪合同，本身都没有任何问题。奢侈税和硬工资帽惩罚如此严苛，并非他们的过错。但如果他们真的愿意少拿一些，那么同时留住他们二人和文班亚马，至少在一段时间内或许是有可能的。将75%甚至更多的工资帽空间绑定在三名球员身上，会让建队变得异常艰难，但如果马刺能从这两位后卫身上获得哪怕是微小的降薪，他们就可以利用自己的选秀权来补充廉价的阵容深度，同时仍有余裕签下几份中等大小的合同。
除非劳资协议在2029年发生巨变，否则为三名球星支付整个职业生涯的顶薪几乎是不可能的，但全员的集体降薪，能够为这套核心阵容争取到一些时间。
由生成式 AI 翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
查看原文：What Victor Wembanyama’s pay cut means for the Spurs’ future
What Victor Wembanyama’s pay cut means for the Spurs’ future
The Spurs re-signed Victor Wembanyama, something everyone expected to happen. What was surprising about it was that Wembanyama, a consensus top-five player in the league, decided to settle for the normal maximum contract instead of one that would have gotten him a bigger payday if he simply met some criteria he was likely to meet.
While not providing an immediate impact on the cap situation, as the extension doesn’t kick in until next season, Wemby’s decision does help the Spurs in several ways going forward.
The Spurs have gained a lot of certainty about their cap situation
While Wembanyama’s decision has been described as a pay cut, that’s not technically accurate. Not yet, at least. The most Wembanyama could have signed for was 25 percent of the salary cap, which is what he’s slated to get. What The Alien gave up is the possibility of getting paid 30 percent of the cap if he had made an All-NBA team or won Most Valuable Player or Defensive Player of the Year in the 2026/27 season.
The chances of Wembanyama reaching one of those benchmarks were likely, as he was recently unanimously named DPoY and made first-team All-NBA. Now, Wemby only just made it to the 65-game threshold for the awards, so there’s a case to be made that health could have prevented him from getting the 30 percent max. Even then, the Spurs wouldn’t have known until next season how much money Wemby would command.
The biggest immediate benefit to the Spurs is that they have gained certainty. They know for a fact that the most Wembanyama will get is 25 percent of the cap and can prepare for the future accordingly. They’ll also get to avoid the awkwardness of having Wembanyama’s health and rest intertwined with his earning power, but that’s a bonus.
Wemby’s sacrifice could push back the time for painful decisions
The added predictability to their cap situation should allow the Spurs to push back some tough decisions. Instead of making $54 million in 2027/28, Wembanyama will make $43 million. San Antonio will have around $202 million in committed salary for 11 players, including Luke Kornet’s partially guaranteed deal, narrowly below the tax line, estimated to be set at $211 million. The aprons will be set over the tax line.
In theory, the Spurs could keep Kornet, bring back Keldon Johnson to a smaller contract, and sign their first-round pick while not crossing the second apron line. If Johnson commands a higher salary than they are comfortable paying, they could let him go and use their mid-level exception to replace him while likely still remaining below the first apron. If they want to stay under the tax while signing their first-rounder, they could easily do so by letting Johnson go, waiving Kornet to save around $7 million, and filling out the roster with minimum contracts.
It’s unclear whether the Spurs will want to duck the tax or be fine with paying it while not crossing the second apron. What Wembanyama’s new extension does is likely allow them to do either while retaining their core rotation players. For now, at least.
The cap reckoning is still coming, but Wemby’s sacrifice could inspire others to take less to stay together
Wembanyama deciding to take 25 percent of the cap no matter what brought predictability and potentially delayed some tough decisions, but those tough decisions are still coming. What the Spurs can hope for is Wembanyama’s sacrifice to inspire others.
Eventually parting ways with De’Aaron Fox, who signed a veteran extension for 30 percent of the cap, seems inevitable, as the young Spurs whose small contracts are making his deal palatable become more expensive. Especially since the two players likely to earn max or near-max contracts are also on-ball guards. By 2028/29, San Antonio will have to get money off the books for a Stephon Castle extension, and if it doesn’t come at the expense of trading Fox for expiring deals before then, it will likely cost them their depth. There’s no escaping that reality.
What Wembanyama’s decision can affect is what happens next. Now, there would be nothing wrong about Castle and Dylan Harper signing for the maximum, whatever that might end up being. It’s not their fault the tax and the aprons are so punishing. But if they do take less, keeping both of them, along with Wembanyama, could be possible, at least for a while. Having 75 percent of the cap or more tied to three players would make team-building hard, but if the Spurs can get even small discounts from the guards, they could use their draft picks to add cheap depth while still having room for a couple of mid-sized deals.
Unless the CBA changes dramatically in 2029, paying three stars for the rest of their careers will be close to impossible, but pay cuts across the board could buy the core some time.
By Jeje Gomez, via Pounding The Rock