With their season now over, the Golden State Warriors will ponder about what they’ll do next with Klay Thompson. Thompson will enter the 2024 NBA Offseason as a free agent. According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, one Warriors rival has their eyes on Thompson.
“The Dallas Mavericks are worth watching as a possible suitor as well, league sources tell The Athletic,” Amick wrote in an April 17 story.
Amick added that Grayson Allen’s extension with the Suns will be a talking point in negotiations.
“The Phoenix Suns’ decision to give Grayson Allen a four-year, $70 million extension on Monday also becomes a relevant data point, with Thompson’s camp sure to point out that a 28-year-old role player just landed a deal that pays him an average of $17.5 million annually.”
The Warriors have an expensive payroll even without Thompson on their books. They will pay $175 million for the 2024-25 season, though they could decline Chris Paul’s $30 million contract.
The Mavericks are a playoff team hoping to win a championship. With Luka Doncic as their main star, they are also a younger team than the Warriors. With Doncic and Kyrie Irving, the Mavericks wouldn’t depend on Thompson to score if he agreed to join them.
How the Mavericks would end up with Thompson is another story. Their payroll for the 2024-25 season will be almost $174 million.
Stephen Curry Defends Klay Thompson’s Play-In Performance
Thompson had an all-around horrendous performance in the Warriors play-in loss against the Sacramento Kings. Thompson put up a goose egg in the points department, which included shooting zero-for-10 from the field.
Despite Thompson’s performance, Stephen Curry came to his fellow Splash Brother’s defense.
“Everybody’s going to talk about one game,” Curry said via Associated Press. “I know he wanted to play better. … I know he’s a true champion. We all prepare ourselves to play our best when the lights are bright. When it doesn’t happen, nobody needs to tell you anything.”
Thompson’s performance was not well-timed, knowing that his free agency is coming up. However, knowing his history with both Curry and the Warriors, there’s plenty of sentiment with Thompson.
The Warriors’ era of dominance with Curry and Thompson might very well be over, but that may not necessarily mean Thompson’s time with Golden State is over.
Exec Floats Klay Thompson’s Next Contract
Heavy Sports‘ Sean Deveney spoke with a Western Conference exec about what Thompson’s market will look like in free agency.
“You never know how a team values a player, but I could see him getting two years and $40 million, maybe three years with the third year partially guaranteed,” the GM told Deveney in an April 17 story.
The exec also warned that Thompson may not get what he wants because there isn’t that much available money.
“It is going to be a slow market for everyone, there is not a lot of money out there,” the exec said. “If you are 34 and you had two major surgeries, you have to face that reality.”
At his age and having suffered two career-altering injuries – tearing his ACL and then his Achilles – Thompson may have to take a sizable paycut. The questions will be how much he is willing to shed off his price tag and who would give him the contract he wants.
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Warriors Rival ‘Worth Watching’ as Suitor for Klay Thompson: Report