Getty Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors are in serious danger of losing Klay Thompson as a free agent, per multiple insiders covering the franchise.
On the June 10 episode of 95.7’s “The Game” podcast, Bay Area-based media personalities Bonta Hill and Joe Shasky played a sound clip of The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson II and Anthony Slater discussing Thompson’s future in Golden State.
“His situation remains very unsettled behind the scenes,” Slater said on the June 6 episode of the “Warriors Plus Minus” podcast.
Thompson II added, “I don’t think it’s looking good for him coming back. I think he’s going to get a bunch of money thrown at him.”
The insiders noted that Thompson could receive lucrative offers north of 30 million per season from interested suitors such as the Magic, Thunder and 76ers.
On May 30, Slater reported that while the Warriors intended to retain Thompson, they weren’t willing to get into a bidding war for one-half of the Splash Brothers.
“The Warriors maintain a desire to retain Thompson at the right price once other aspects of their roster retool get clarified,” Slater wrote. “But they haven’t exactly been beating down his door to work out the framework for an extension (which can be signed at any time). In turn, the 34-year-old Thompson appears ready to test free-agency waters, exploring external options for the first time in his career.”
Klay Thompson Free Agency Could Shake Up NBA
If Thompson were to change teams, his decision could have severe ramifications on the 2024-25 NBA season. Although Thompson is no longer the player he was pre-injuries, he’s still one of the best 3-and-D specialists in the NBA.
Thompson made 268 threes in the 2023-24 season, which ranked fourth in the league behind only Stephen Curry (357), Luka Doncic (284) and Donte DiVincenzo (283). Surely, Thompson’s production could prove invaluable to team, especially a title contender.
Amid all the talk about Thompson potentially testing free agency, the man himself addressed his future on “The Draymond Green Show” on April 8.
“Yes, I want to re-sign with the Dubs, but I also have to prioritize my mental health and lay out what is important to me at this point of my career,” Thompson said.
Warriors Are Handicapped with Finances
In a perfect world, the Warriors would love to retain Thompson and keep their Core 3 of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Thompson in tact until all three players walk off into the sunset. After the Warriors failed to make the 2024 NBA Playoffs, head coach Steve Kerr spoke about his desire to see the three stars remain in the Bay forever.
“I do think there is a lot of value to having our three guys being Warriors for life. I think there’s a lot of value in ending with dignity … so, for those three I really want to see all of them finish their careers here but also finish out their careers with a sense of pride and dignity in what they’re doing,” Kerr said, via ESPN.
However, Golden State’s financial situation could significantly hamper their chances to keep Curry, Thompson and Green together. Earlier in 2024, Warriors governor Joe Lacob said his plan was to shed the franchise’s luxury-tax bill after it spent $382.5 million in the 2023-24 season only to miss the playoffs.
As such, it remains unlikley the Warriors would go into a bidding war with the Magic, Thunder or any of the other teams trying to pry Thomspon away from Golden State.
If Thompson has played his last game as a Warrior, his final appearance would be remembered for all the wrong reasons. However, Thompson would still be regarded as a Warriors legend who helped the franchise capture four NBA titles.
Klay Thompson went SCORELESS in the Warriors elimination game tonight 😬
