Klay Thompson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Warriors Notes: Thompson, McCaw, Irving Impact

August 25th, 2017 at 9:01am CST by Luke Adams

As we noted earlier this week when we passed along word of the Cavaliers’ inquiry on Klay Thompson, the Warriors shooting guard called the interest in him “flattering,” but reiterated that he’s happy in Golden State and hopes to spend his career with the franchise.

During that same conversation with Anthony Slater of The Athletic, Thompson was asked about his contract situation and reiterated his desire to stick with the Warriors, adding that he’s “not really too worried about the numbers” at this point. Added Thompson: “It’s rare in the NBA to have a team that can win with the culture we created. It’s hard to put a price on it.”

Here’s more on the three-time All-Star, along with a few more items out of the Bay Area:

The Cavaliers, Pacers, and other teams have examined the Warriors’ core and concluded that Thompson is the most available piece of Golden State’s big four, which is why he should get accustomed to trade rumors, writes Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com. However, the Warriors have significant appreciation for the role Thompson plays in their success and are expected to keep rebuffing those inquiries.
Second-year swingman Patrick McCaw is the kind of young, affordable rotation player the Warriors need to rely on in order to keep team salary in check. However, McCaw only has one year on his deal, and is poised to get much more expensive in 2018. Danny Leroux of The Athletic takes an early look at the 21-year-old’s restricted free agency.
In the wake of this week’s Kyrie Irving blockbuster, Anthony Slater of The Athletic and Phil Taylor of The Athletic reach a similar conclusion: The mega-deal shouldn’t have a major impact on the Warriors, who still enter the 2017/18 season as strong title favorites.

Cavs Inquired On Klay Thompson Before Trading Kyrie To Celtics

August 23rd, 2017 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers completed a trade with their top Eastern competitor on Tuesday and had apparently been willing to deal with another notable rival. Before they worked out an agreement with the Celtics that sent Kyrie Irving to Boston, the Cavs called the Warriors to inquire about a possible swap involving Irving and Klay Thompson, reports Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. Spears describes Golden State as “uninterested.”

From a cap perspective, a Thompson/Irving deal would have made some sense, since both players have two guaranteed seasons left on their respective contracts and are earning similar salaries. However, there was little reason for the Warriors to break up the core of a roster that is coming off a championship, particularly since Thompson – an excellent shooter and defender who doesn’t need the ball much – is probably a better fit in Golden State than Irving would have been.

It’s the second time this offseason that we’ve heard about a team shopping a star and contacting the Warriors about a possible deal involving Thompson. The Pacers reportedly reached out to Golden State about a potential Paul George/Thompson swap back in June. As they did when the Cavs called about Irving, the Warriors told the Pacers they weren’t interested, which Thompson appreciates, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

“It’s really cool,” Thompson told Slater. “It shows the Warriors believe in me and these other teams want me to be a part of their success. So I appreciate it. I’ve been in trade rumors forever. Everyone has. Except for maybe LeBron James, Steph [Curry] — well, even Steph early in his career. It’s part of the business. It is flattering and I do appreciate it.

“When you hear the rumors, it means you’re wanted,” Thompson added. “You’re doing something right. Look at the bright side. But I’m happy I’m still with the Warriors. I hope to be here my whole career. It’s a great place to play.”

Pacers Offered Paul George To Warriors For Klay Thompson

July 13th, 2017 at 7:59pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Before the Pacers dealt Paul George to the Thunder, the team was interested in shipping George to the Warriors, offering him in a deal for Klay Thompson, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com shares on his podcast. George, who appeared on The Woj Pod, told the scribe that he was aware of the team’s offer.

“I would’ve looked forward to it, of just being in a good situation and a chance to compete for a championship. But it didn’t happen. It’s still fun to team up with a special talent and have a chance to compete against that team,” George said.

The four-time All-Star added that had a deal materialized, it would have been similar to the 2011 Chris Paul-to-the-Lakers deal that was ultimately shot down by the league.

Indiana ended up sending George to the Thunder to play alongside Russell Westbrook. The franchise received Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis in the deal.

Western Notes: Warriors, Lakers, Mavs, Spurs

June 8th, 2017 at 8:57am CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of the Warriors‘ Game 3 win over the Cavaliers, Cleveland may have to face the harsh reality that there will be no stopping Golden State for the next few years, writes Chris Mannix of The Vertical. As Mannix explains, there aren’t many obvious routes the Cavs can take to upgrade their roster, and the Warriors should have no trouble attracting ring-chasing veterans every year — this season, productive vets like David West and Zaza Pachulia were willing to take reduced salaries to join the Dubs.

Meanwhile, fans of rival teams may hope that the Warriors’ four core players get too expensive for the team to keep them all, but that’s unlikely to happen anytime soon. Klay Thompson has been the star most frequently cited as the potential victim of a Warriors cap crunch, and acknowledged to Mannix that he has thought about one day being the face of another franchise. However, he added: “It’s just winning is so much fun.”

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

In an interesting and informative Lakers notebook for Bleacher Report, Eric Pincus outlines the team’s best route to landing Paul George and lists all the draft prospects that have met with and worked out for the Lakers within the past few weeks.
Speaking of Lakers pre-draft workouts, De’Aaron Fox‘s meeting with the team is scheduled to take place on June 13, league sources tells Mark Medina of InsideSoCal.com. Lonzo Ball is considered the odds-on favorite to be drafted second overall by Los Angeles, but Fox remains in the mix.
Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News identifies five realistic free agent targets for the Mavericks, including three notable point guards.
Utah’s Kyle Kuzma and BYU’s Eric Mika are among the prospects who have worked out for the Spurs this week, as Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News tweets. Kuzma, ranked as this year’s 42nd-best prospect by DraftExpress, could be a target for San Antonio with the No. 29 overall pick — or at No. 59, if he falls.

Pacific Notes: J. Jackson, Isaac, Tatum, Thompson

May 30th, 2017 at 9:47pm CST by Joshua Fischman

The Suns potentially have a difficult decision to make when they find themselves on the clock with the fourth overall pick, writes Doug Haller of AZCentral Sports. Three talented freshman small forwards could be available: Josh Jackson, Jonathan Isaac, and Jayson Tatum. Defense and three-point shooting are likely the Suns’ two most glaring weaknesses, and one of these athletes could certainly help.

Haller writes that Jackson’s real impact could come defensively. The scribe adds that, while Tatum is nowhere near the defender that Jackson is, the Duke freshman may be the most polished scorer in the draft. As for Isaac, he can play both forward positions, with many believing that he will also be able to man the center position when his body fills out. Furthermore, the departing Seminole would contribute defensive versatility, having defended all over the floor for Florida State.

Here are some more pertinent notes from the Pacific division:

On Tuesday, the Suns were set to host two pre-draft workouts, per the club’s official Twitter page. The announced participants were Zak Irvin, Wesley Iwundu, Luke Kornet, Kennedy Meeks, Semi Ojeleye, Devin Robinson, and Jarrett Allen.
The Kings will hold two pre-draft workouts on Wednesday, reports Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. The first group is full of big names: Justin Jackson, Jordan Bell, Frank Mason, Kyle Kuzma, London Perrantes, and Devin Robinson. Jones points out that, prior to last year’s draft, the Kings convinced just once first-round pick to visit the team, even though Sacramento held the eighth overall selection. To find out which players are part of the second group that is working out for the Kings on Wednesday, check out Jones’ full story.
Ivan Rabb does not regret returning for his sophomore season at Cal despite falling from a likely lottery pick in the last draft to an expected low first-round selection this time around, reports Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. On the contrary, Rabb believes that staying in school an additional season will help him at the next level. Rabb was one of six players to work out for the Lakers on Tuesday. The others were Jaron Blossomgame, Sterling Brown, Tyler Dorsey, Cameron Oliver, and Xavier Rathan-Mayes.
Klay Thompson‘s historic Game 6 against the Thunder in the 2016 Western Conference Finals had a transformative effect on basketball history, chronicles Tim Kawakami of The San Jose Mercury News. Although Thompson’s performance that night did not lead to a second-straight Warriors championship, without it, Kevin Durant very well may not have joined Golden State during the ensuing offseason.

Klay Thompson Changes Agencies

February 13th, 2017 at 4:07pm CST by Milo Taibi

He won’t be a free agent until after the 2018/19 season, but Klay Thompson has switched agencies; making the leap from BDA Sports to Wasserman. According to Liz Mullen of Sports Business Daily, Greg Lawrence of Wasserman will be Thompson’s lead agent.

Thompson had previously been represented by Rade Filipovich and Bill Duffy of BDA Sports. Thompson will immediately become Lawrence’s highest profile client. According to RealGM (link), Lawrence’s longest tenured clients are Dorell Wright, J.J. Redick, and Spencer Hawes.

Thompson is currently in the second year of a four-year, $68,979,450 pact with Golden State. Thompson’s rate of $16,663,575 is second on the team to Kevin Durant, who will earn $26,540,100 this season. Thompson has averaged 21.8 points on 41.8% 3-point shooting through 53 games in 2016/17.

The Warriors, who have a total cap of $99,689,888, will have eight players become unrestricted free agents at season’s end; the most notable being Stephen Curry.

Blazers Duo, Embiid Fail To Make All-Star Cut

January 26th, 2017 at 6:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley, the Blazers backcourt duo Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum and Jazz center Rudy Gobert were among the prominent players who failed to make the cut on the Western Conference All-Star reserve unit, which was unveiled on Thursday and relayed on the NBA’s Twitter feed. Joel Embiid, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony were some of the notable names who didn’t make the cut on the Eastern Conference squad. (Twitter links).

Russell Westbrook, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, DeMarcus Cousins, Marc Gasol, DeAndre Jordan and Gordon Hayward received the most votes by the conference’s coaches, who pick the reserves. Westbrook, of course, was the biggest snub among the All-Star starters as the fan voting, which counted for 50% toward the overall balloting, put him behind Stephen Curry and James Harden.

Paul George, Kevin Love, Kyle Lowry, Paul Millsap, Isaiah Thomas, Kemba Walker and John Wall were named the Eastern Conference’s All-Star reserves.

Did the coaches get it right or was there an obvious mistake on their part? Go to the comments section and weigh in.

Klay Thompson Would Have Interest In Extension

January 12th, 2017 at 3:04pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement is expected to make contract extensions for veteran players more common, by loosening the restrictions on those deals, and – in some cases – making them more lucrative. Speaking to Sam Amick of USA Today, Klay Thompson was asked about the possibility of signing an extension a couple summers from now and potentially spending his entire career in Golden State — the sharpshooter sounded very much on board with the idea.

“I try not to think that far ahead, but I’d love to be here for as long as I can,” Thompson said. “What we’ve built here is so special, and I love living in the Bay Area, so that would be a huge priority of mine … I just feel like if I play hard and work hard every day, I’ll get rewarded no matter what I do, so I’m not going to get caught up with the numbers and how much money I could potentially make because it’ll all come around. You’ve just got to stay humble and be appreciative of what I have. And if I keep working this hard, I’ll be rewarded.”

Thompson, who is earning $16.63MM this season, is under contract through the 2018/19 campaign, so there should be no urgency on his part or on the Warriors’ part to get something done anytime soon. The new CBA will allow him to become extension-eligible on July 1, but the Warriors will prioritize new deals for Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant at that point, since both players figure to become unrestricted free agents.

Still, Thompson’s case for an extension will be a fascinating one to keep an eye on going forward. Curry is viewed as a lock to receive a designated veteran extension worth 35% of the cap from Golden State this summer, and while Durant isn’t eligible for a designated veteran extension, his 10 years of NBA experience will put him in line for a max-salary deal worth 35% of the cap as well.

As for Thompson, he would be eligible for a designated player extension in the summer of 2018, as he enters his eighth year of service, but only if he earns a spot on an All-NBA team this season or next season. Thompson was named to to the NBA’s All-NBA Third Team in 2015/16, but there will be plenty of competition going forward.

In additions to last year’s group of All-NBA guards – Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kyle Lowry, Chris Paul, and Damian Lillard – backcourt stars like James Harden, DeMar DeRozan, Isaiah Thomas, Kyrie Irving, and John Wall will make a strong case for consideration this year, which may leave Thompson on the outside looking in.

If he doesn’t earn an All-NBA nod this season or next season, Thompson wouldn’t be eligible for a designated veteran extension in 2018, though he could sign a new deal worth up to 30% of the cap, if the Warriors had the necessary cap space. At that point, assuming Curry, Durant, and Draymond Green are all still on the roster, the Warriors would have to assess whether it makes sense to keep all four players on massive contracts. Green’s current deal runs through the 2019/20 season.

For now, with two and a half years left on his current contract, Thompson probably isn’t interested in looking too far into the future. But if his enthusiasm for sticking with the Warriors long-term remains as strong in a year or two, it will create an interesting situation. The new designated veteran extension makes it easier for teams to retain a superstar player and reward them with more lucrative deals, but when a club has three or four stars deserving of huge, long-term contracts, those costs will quickly add up and could lead to some difficult decisions.

Warriors Notes: Thompson, McCaw, Seth Curry

November 17th, 2016 at 10:25am CST by Luke Adams

In case there was still any lingering doubt, Warriors general manager Bob Myers confirmed on Wednesday during an appearance on 95.7 The Game that his team isn’t trading Klay Thompson, as Anthony Slater of The Bay Area News Group details. The Golden State GM added that he wasn’t thrilled by the way that idle trade speculation had ballooned into something that he had to address.

“I wish there was a little bit more discipline because you know what it causes: I gotta talk to Klay Thompson,” Myers said. “I gotta talk to his agent. And I get it, it’s part of the job. And there are times where rumors have weight to them and meaning, but I think it requires a little bit more diligence then just throwing stuff out there.”

The Thompson talk surfaced when current Celtics analyst Brian Scalabrine passed along trade speculation involving Thompson and the Celtics without noting that neither he nor anyone else was actually reporting any interest or talks between Golden State and Boston. Scalabrine tells Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe that he apologized to Myers and Celtics GM Danny Ainge, though the former Warriors assistant said he’ll continue to discuss potential trade scenarios on the radio going forward — hopefully, in the future, Scalabrine will draw a clearer line between reported rumors and mere speculation.

Here’s more out of Golden State:

While there’s nothing to the Thompson/Celtics talk, one NBA GM is relieved that Golden State isn’t pushing for a trade along those lines.. “Please tell me [the] Klay to Boston rumors [are] not true,” the GM said to Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net (Twitter link). “If they got [Avery] Bradley and [Jae] Crowder, it’s over. … Klay [is] not a good fit there anymore.”
The Warriors were high on second-round pick Patrick McCaw coming into the season, and the rookie is already delivering on some of his promise, having played a career-high 21 minutes in Wednesday’s win against the Raptors. Tim Kawakami of The San Jose Mercury News takes a closer look at McCaw, who is expected to be a big part of the club’s future.
During an appearance on Adrian Wojnarowski’s podcast at The Vertical, Seth Curry explained why he opted not to sign with the Warriors during the past couple summers, despite receiving offers from his brother’s club. CSN Bay Area has a breakdown of Curry’s comments on the subject.

Pacific Rumors: Thompson, Warriors, Cousins, Casspi

November 15th, 2016 at 9:01am CST by Luke Adams

The anatomy of a bad trade rumor was on display earlier this week, as CSNNE analyst Brian Scalabrine suggested during a radio appearance that he’d heard a possible deal involving the Warriors, Klay Thompson, and the Celtics could be on the table. As it turns out, Scalabrine was simply passing along speculation he had read on a blog, rather than reporting anything substantial.

As Sam Amick of USA Today writes, a source quickly shot down the idea that the Warriors are entertaining any trade talks involving Thompson with the Celtics or anyone else. Meanwhile, one team executive told Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net (Twitter link) that his club had talked to Golden State about Thompson, but that exec didn’t get the impression that the Warriors had any interest in moving him. The Dubs could use some defensive help, particularly around the rim, but the idea of trading one half of the Splash Brothers to beef up that interior defense appears to be a non-starter — for now, at least.

Here’s more from around the Pacific division:

Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders takes a closer look at the trade rumors surrounding Thompson and DeMarcus Cousins, concluding that neither the Warriors nor the Kings are likely to make a move with their stars anytime soon. Regarding the Warriors, Kyler says that the team’s plan for this season is to keep its core together, potentially adding a small complementary piece at some point.
Although he has denied a report suggesting he asked the Kings to trade him, Omri Casspi admits he’s somewhat frustrated by his new role – or lack thereof – under head coach Dave Joerger, per Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. “I didn’t think I’d go from playing 27 minutes to being out of the rotation,” Casspi said. “It is what it is. I’ve got to be a pro about it. … What goes through my mind is I can help this team win. I might be here today, and I’ve got to stay ready. I might be somewhere else. I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do.” Casspi was reportedly scheduled to meet with GM Vlade Divac on Monday to discuss his status.
The Suns didn’t have massive expectations for Devin Booker when they selected him 13th overall in the 2015 draft, but just a year and a half later, the future of the franchise is tied to the young guard’s development, writes Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post.