Veteran sharpshooter Klay Thompson is leaving the Warriors, the only franchise he’s known in his 13 NBA seasons, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link).
According to Charania, the two sides are set to begin exploring sign-and-trade options for the five-time All-Star. Sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that Thompson will talk to the Mavericks, Lakers, Clippers and Sixers with free agency officially underway (Twitter link).
The 11th pick of the 2011 draft, Thompson is one of the most accomplished shooters in league history, ranking sixth all-time in three-pointers made. The 34-year-old has knocked down 41.3% of his attempts from long distance over the course of his career.
The second “splash brother” next to Stephen Curry, Thompson played a key role in helping Golden State win four championships during his tenure with the team. Earlier in his career, he made a couple of All-NBA Third Team appearances, plus an All-Defensive Second Team nod back in 2018/19.
However, a torn ACL and a torn Achilles tendon cost Thompson two full seasons during his prime. While he has remained one of the NBA’s top three-point marksmen since he returned from those injuries in January 2022, he doesn’t have the same athleticism or defensive versatility he once did.
Thompson, who earned $43.2MM in 2023/24 during the final year of his max contract, reportedly turned down a two-year, $48MM extension from Golden State before last season began. Talks between the two sides went quiet leading up to free agency, which is always an ominous sign.
In 77 regular season games in ’23/24, Thompson averaged 17.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG and 2.3 APG on .432/.387/.927 shooting (29.7 MPG). He scored zero points and went 0-10 from the field as the No. 9 Warriors fell to the No. 10 Kings in the play-in tournament.
Not shocking. He’s probably headed to LA, but I’d like to see him be the veteran leader for Orlando.
Please not Lakers or Mavs :(
Be mavs or philly. The L.A teams can’t offer much, need to move salary for nothing in return.
My bet he goes to Mavs in a sign and trade. Warriors get Green and Powell.
Green and Maxi… Klay gets $23M and they get to sign DJJ to Non tax MLE.
all that warrior 4 life talk was just talk
Of course it was just talk and everyone should have understood that.
it was not, Klay is a ringchaser now
He’s got 4 rings. He’s not leaving to chase a ring. He’s leaving because he feels disrespected by the Warriors contract offers/non-offers.
then he should sign the richest deal possible right?
He should sign wherever he thinks is the best situation for him money wise, playing wise, life wise. I’m sure if he had his choice it would be the Lakers.
was he disrespected when he got paid max $$ for 2 injured years? chump move. all his love for the bay, needs that extra $10M/yr.
48 mill for two yrs is plenty respect. He’s not getting that now.
Lakers are not trading for him. They need all the players they can keep. Seems Mavs are willing to pay. Imo he should go to Philly. As a rotation piece.
Agreed, Philly would be the ideal situation for him, but I think Dallas is his destination because of the money, their appearance in the finals, and opportunity to play GSW in the west.
I don’t think it was just talk. Essentially, he has aged and is no longer the player he was AND the Warriors have young players who need his minutes. But he still wants big money like he is still a top player, which he no longer is. And last season he turned into a head case when he had to confront his diminished skills.
yeah does he think going 0-10 3PG in the playoffs for the LAL, DAL, ORL is going to improve his legacy?
Why would you assume he goes 0-10 in the playoffs again just because he did it one time? Statically, the odds are very against that. He still shot 38.7% from 3 last season.
look at his performance in the playoffs since returning from injury. he can’t hang anymore. but fine go be kyle korver for LBJ, klay.
Yeah, he’s done that one time. You’re acting like it’s the norm for him. He’s not great anymore but he also isn’t useless.
no one is saying he useless, but he’s not worth the contract number he has in his head. the warriors offer pre-season was more than fair, but Klay’s got it in his head that he still a MAX player and he ain’t. He shouldn’t be so selfish if he cares about the franchise as much as he preached loyalty.
“yeah does he think going 0-10 3PG in the playoffs for the LAL, DAL, ORL is going to improve his legacy?”
Sounds to me like you think he’s gonna pretty useless next season
Couldn’ta thumb-typed it any better than this, KezarMike. Klay’s (AND Dray’s) attitudes/demeanors were too often unacceptable last season, especially coming from two 4-time champions and there being several very young and impressionable teammates front and center for it all.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Warriors play this. Whatever they claim publicly, their interest is in maximizing the return for Klay, not making Klay happy by co-operating with his team of choice.
Ideally for the Warriors, some competition heats up between the 3 teams in pursuit, which drives up his asking price and the value of assets Warriors receive in return.
With the money Dallas has they could send Josh Green who they don’t need and trade money for Klay and have money left to sign Jones’s
C’mon man, you’re speaking commonsense ruining Laker getting everybody clickbait specials.
What are you predicting that Klay is offered? The MLE is $12.6, so that’s the floor. More likely, it’s between $15-$20. For the Warriors to co-operate, they’ll need to get something of comparable value in exchange.
Agree that Josh Green is the 1 piece to come back from Dallas if they are the team, given hi $10M salary. But there would likely also be a young player or 2.
For the Lakers, the talk is they will sign CP3 and try to trade DLo and his expiring contract.
Not sure about Clippers.
Problem with D’Lo is nobody wants him unless a young player or draft pick is attached.
Warriors will do right by Klay. Doesn’t matter if it’s ending a bit sour. Warriors know what he means to the fanbase and are going to want to appear to be doing him a favor.
no they’re not. he’s playing hardball after they offered him a fair contract on timeline with Steph. Klay seems to think that he’s still worth a 9 figure deal. He ain’t.
Wow, both sides kind of messed this up the last couple of years…Klay hasn’t been Klay in like 8 years, but he is still extremely valuable when used right, even when he himself isn’t knocking down shots…They have things they can do without him, but he also makes a lot of things go, with their spacing, and that was already an issue they could have used someone at (at 3/4l…
They added Lindy Waters, and he can play at the 1-3 spots. I’ll be curious to see what else they do to address those spots on the wing, and I’m sure, as of now, it seems Moody will get more usage
Chris Paul wasn’t really used right most of the year, but they have so many guards, they can deal with that, assuming they address the main issues
@formerlyz , Klay has lost much more than you describe. Warriors struggled to come to terms with it, and played him more than they should have.
He lost his starting spot in the middle of the year, and both he and the team were public that he should come off the bench for the rest of his career.
It depends who is around him. Still provides spacing; they’re still positive net rating with him on the floor. He is similar to Duncan Robinson right now. The issue is he wants max money, and he isn’t worth more than 3 years in the $16-22 million per range
right so the 2/48 he was offered last fall was more than fair. he’s delusional thinking he’s getting a 9 figure deal. he’s got a dumb agent too.
I agree that he overpriced himself, however he might not be wrong. Wing shooting is extremely scarce, even though he isn’t near the defender he once was. Again, I think both sides messed this up in some ways, as well as obviously the new rules
Everybody knows Klay can still shoot. The problem is he can’t defend anymore.
Warriors
1 hour 2 part ways
Klay $43 million
Paul $30 million
SIXERS need a shooter
Thompson qualifies
If true, a two-year, $48MM Contract was actually a Fair Offer for his current skill level.
This past season they had to hide him on Defense because he couldn’t guard anyone his own Height or shorter. They had him guarding non-scoring Big Men types.
he’s been exposed the last 2 seasons in the playoffs. he can’t guard OKC/MIN guards/wings, not strong enough never developed his RBing to play the 4.
I hate when players refuse to accept that they’re getting old and the skill are fading away. Just take the league minimum and ride off into the sunset with the Warriors. You have nothing to prove
Good luck Klay. Stay happy. Bay loves you
@zero , yeah, as somebody who has loved Klay for a decade, it’s tragic to see him go out with so little self-awareness and grace.
Only pride and pettiness have led him to this: a reserve role at 1/2 the salary he rejected, to a new fanbase with no appreciation of his legacy.