Warriors prepared to part ways with Klay Thompson in free agency after 4 championships, 13 years, per report

The Golden State Warriors drafted Klay Thompson 13 years ago with the No. 11 pick. They almost traded him for Kevin Love 10 years ago, right before he became a perennial All-Star, a gold medalist and an NBA champion. Thompson and the Warriors won three titles in four years after one of the best non-trades in NBA history, then he tore his ACL in the 2019 NBA Finals, tore his Achilles during a pickup game and, after missing two full seasons, returned to win another title in 2022. He is one of the most beloved players Golden State will ever have, a crucial part of a dynasty and half of the Splash Brothers.

And his run with the Warriors is (likely, reportedly) over.

Golden State, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Anthony Slater, is expected to part ways with Thompson in the coming days. While free agency has yet to officially begin, the Warriors have been able to negotiate with the 34-year-old wing since this year’s NBA Finals ended. In the nearly two weeks that have passed, Thompson and Golden State have had “close to no communication,” per The Athletic.

The Warriors have reportedly not made Thompson an offer, even though coach Steve Kerr told Jim Rome four days ago, “Klay has been such an integral part of everything around here — obviously, multi-time champion, but even more than that just someone who has such a great connection with the Bay Area, which the franchise, with his teammates — and so we want Klay back desperately, I want him back desperately.” 

This is because, from the front office’s perspective, it can’t responsibly make Thompson an offer … yet. Golden State wants to upgrade the roster and compete for another championship, and it has reportedly been trying to trade Andrew Wiggins and Chris Paul’s non-guaranteed contract. So far, it has not been able to make these moves, but it knows that its total team salary cannot exceed $189.7 million (i.e. the “second apron” in the new CBA). 

According to The Athletic and Marc Stein of The Stein Line, Kerr is telling the truth: The Warriors want to retain…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/warriors-prepared-to-part-ways-with-klay-thompson-in-free-agency-after-4-championships-13-years-per-report/

Author : James Herbert

Publish date : 2024-06-29 23:18:45

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