1 East team ready to give big contract to Klay Thompson this summer?
May 14, 2019; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) stands on the court before the start of the game against the Portland Trail Blazers in game one of the Western conference finals of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Klay Thompson may have a bag waiting for him on the other coastline.
Tim Kawakami of The Athletic wrote in a feature this week that one of the “worst-kept secrets” in the NBA is that the Orlando Magic might offer the Golden State Warriors star Thompson “a ton of money” in free agency this summer. Kawakami notes that the Magic have a lot of young talent but few shooters to surround them with.
The news comes with Thompson about to hit unrestricted free agency this offseason. At 34 years old now, the lifelong Warrior Thompson is clearly on the back-nine of his career these days. But he is quickly playing himself into a nice payday regardless with his much-improved stats for Golden State of late. Over the last month, Thompson, who has gone back and forth between the bench and the starting lineup, is posting 20.2 points a game on vintage 46/40/95 shooting splits. While the Warriors are still just a play-in team at 43-35, the individual resurgence of Thompson has been hard to ignore.
That gives Golden State a monumentally difficult decision to make this offseason. They would like to get under the luxury tax as soon as possible, especially since they are currently fielding a mediocre team. But the loss of their beloved four-time champion Thompson (without any real means of replacing him) seems like a deeply unpalatable option as well.
The ball will ultimately be in the Warriors’ court as they still have the ability to pay Thompson the most money over the greatest number of years. But if they do decide to turn the page on their Splash Brother extraordinaire, Orlando and several other prospective suitors are sure to hop right in.
