CJ McCollum predicts Klay Thompson will leave Warriors
NBA fans have long wondered if Klay Thompson will eventually be the odd man out now that the Golden State Warriors have added Kevin Durant to the fold, and one of Thompson’s fellow players believes that is bound to happen.
During Game 1 of the NBA Finals Thursday night, Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum sent an interesting tweet predicting Thompson will not be with the Warriors much longer.
Klay gonna get another ring and find his own squad. They better enjoy him while he there
— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) June 2, 2017
While McCollum may end up being right, the Warriors are in control of where Thompson ends up in the near future. He’s under contract with the team at an affordable $17 million or so a year for the next two seasons, so Golden State can either ride it out, trade him, or try to sign him to an extension this summer.
Because of the way the new CBA is structured, Thompson will be eligible to sign an extension this offseason even though he has two more years remaining on his deal. If he’s willing to take less than max money, Golden State might decide to lock him up. If not, they’ll have to take care of impending free agents Durant and Stephen Curry before thinking about Thompson’s future.
If the recent report we heard about Durant’s offseason plans is true, the Warriors may be in position to keep their entire core together — including Thompson. But if Thompson ends up with a couple of championship rings and teams are banging down the doors to sign him to a max extension, he’ll likely think long and hard about leaving Golden State.
