The Golden State Warriors‘ continued spiral has led to tough discussions surrounding their veteran core as the February 8 trade deadline is fast approaching, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
“They’ve lost six of eight games. We’ve talked about it everyone is on the table except for Steph Curry,” Charania said on the “Run It Back” on FanDuel TV on January 29. “And so when you think about it, realistically, Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski — the two guys that they’re high on — they want to keep long term. They view them as part of their core moving forward. They’re going to take calls on Andrew Wiggins and Chris Paul.
Could they get interest even from a guy like Klay Thompson? I think those are very much open conversations for the Warriors. They have to be open-minded. This is a team that’s five games under 500 in that 12th spot, outside of the play-in and they’ve got a high high tax bill as well. So this is a team that’s really clearly [on the verge of a major shakeup], we’ll see if there’s going to be any moves over the next 10 days.”
Thompson’s last game was indicative of his inconsistent season.
He stunk in the first half in their 145-144 double overtime heartbreaker to conference rival Los Angeles Lakers on January 27. Then he rebounded with a vintage performance in the second half until he fouled out in the second overtime.
The 33-year-old running mate of Stephen Curry only scored two points on an ugly 1 of 8 shooting in the opening half against the Lakers. Thompson flipped the script in the next 24 minutes with 16 points on 6 of 13 shooting. He added six points in the two overtimes to finish with 24 points on 9 of 24 shooting.
Klay Thompson’s Cloudy Future
Thompson will become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
Given the combination of his age, injury history and his inconsistent play this season, his days as a max player could be over.
Warriors owner Joe Lacob indicated early in the season that they want Thompson back. But their only pathway to re-signing Thompson in the offseason is to dump either Paul or Wiggins’ salaries.
Theoretically, the Warriors can stand pat and just decline Paul’s $30 million non-guaranteed salary next season.
But can they expect a 34-year-old Thompson to be better than this year’s version? Can the Warriors contend again with Thompson as Curry’s running mate and Wiggins blocking Jonathan Kuminga’s rise?
If they believe the answer is no, then they have tough decisions to make that will impact Curry’s final years.
Steph Curry Reflects on His Basketball Mortality After Epic Duel With LeBron James
Despite the loss, Curry still marveled at his and LeBron James’ longevity after their epic back-and-forth spiced up the double-overtime thriller.
“Every year we get to do this, the back-and-forth battles, all the finals runs, to the playoffs last year, after the horn sounded tonight there was a little laugh of we can’t like imagine a scenario where a game like tonight happens, his year, what, 21, and my year 15,” Curry told reporters after the loss. “All the other guys in the league who have been doing it 15-plus years, KD [Kevin Durant], CP [Chris Paul], it’s insane.
You look forward to the battles, but you also appreciate the mutual respect of what it takes to keep doing what you’re doing at this level because only a few people know how hard it is. I’m happy to be in that group.”
Curry made 9 of 21 3-pointers, none bigger than his last with six seconds left in the second overtime which gave the Warriors a 144-143 lead. But James had the last say, sinking the game-winning free throws in the next play.
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Warriors to Gauge Trade Market for Klay Thompson, 2 Other Veterans: Insider