Five-time NBA All-Star Klay Thompson appears ready to move on from the Golden State Warriors.
According to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater, Thompson has no offer on the table from the Warriors with only one week away from the official start of free agency.
The Warriors, according to Slater, are betting on Thompson receiving short-term offers in the open market that will eventually lead him back to them. But Thompson, like a scorned lover, is leaning toward seeking a fresh start regardless of the Warriors’ offer.
“Even if the Warriors eventually approach Thompson with a competitive offer, matching or exceeding the money and years, it has become increasingly conceivable, according to league sources, that Thompson will decide to leave regardless, searching for a fresh start in a different environment, detached from some of the built-up friction of the previous couple seasons,” Slater wrote on June 22.
Negotiation Talks Are Frozen
The new Collective Bargaining Agreement allows the Warriors to negotiate with Thompson right after the Boston Celtics won their 18th championship.
Yet negotiations have stalled.
“Despite a wide open negotiation window, there isn’t a one-year, two-year or three-year deal on the table. Because nothing is currently on the table, according to league sources. There’s been no productive discussion between the Warriors and Thompson or his representatives.
Talks are essentially frozen. With free agency now less than 10 days away, Thompson’s exit from the only franchise he has ever known feels closer and more probable than ever before,” Slater wrote.
Thompson declined a two-year, $48 million offer from the Warriors last offseason, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, when he was seeking a full max. It took a toll on Thompson as his play dipped which led to Steve Kerr deciding to play him off the bench for the first time since his second year in the NBA.
Thompson averaged 17.9 points per game on 43.2% shooting and 38.7% 3-point shooting — his worst scoring season since his second year.
No Traction Between Klay Thompson and Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic, who badly needs shooting, is the Warriors’ biggest threat to steal Thompson. However, Thompson may not get the long-term contract he is seeking from the Magic.
“There has been no traction between Thompson and the Orlando Magic, according to league sources, despite some initial mutual interest. There is expected to be interest from other cap space teams and some longer-term offers on the table in a market that can always move in unpredictable directions,” Slater wrote.
Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer reported that the Magic only wants to offer a two-year contract while Thompson seeks at least a three-year deal.
“Orlando appears to have an appetite to only offer a short-term deal, similar to the two-year, above-market contract the Magic awarded Joe Ingles a season ago,” Fischer wrote on June 21.
Ingles signed a one-plus-one deal worth $22 million with the Magic last year.
The Magic could offer a balloon payment similar to Bruce Brown’s two-year, $45 million deal with the Indiana Pacers last offseason with the second year a team option.
“That number would be below what Thompson declined from Golden State prior to the 2023-24 campaign, sources said, and would not come close to the four years and $78 million Sacramento plans to give [Malik] Monk. Thompson is also believed by league sources to want a deal of at least three seasons,” Fischer wrote.
Alder Almo is a basketball journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has more than 15 years of experience in local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Alder is from the Philippines and is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo
