Klay Thompson is widely expected to re-sign with the Golden State Warriors this summer, but he and his representatives are working hard to ensure the team comes with a bag of cash.
Reports over the past two months have been linking Thompson to other teams in free agency, such as the LA Clippers. On Thursday, the Los Angeles Times’ Brad Turner reported that Thompson will be ready to listen to offers from the Clippers and Lakers if the Warriors don’t bring the max offer of five years and $190 million.
Sources: If the Warriors don’t offer guard Klay Thompson a max $190 million deal on Sunday when free agency opens, he will listen to both LA teams, the Lakers and Clippers. Lakers back in the runnings because they now have max slot of $32 million after today’s trade.
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) June 28, 2019
Thompson’s team is playing hardball here. Klay may be chill and mild-mannered, but he wants the respect from the team in terms of a max deal that he has earned. If they try to do anything less, he is threatening to leave for two of their biggest rivals within the conference — teams that are emerging. The downside is those teams can only offer him a four-year deal, so the Warriors have the best position.
A few years ago, Andre Iguodala was forced to secure an offer from the Rockets in free agency before the Warriors stepped up to the plate. Thompson doesn’t want to be forced to do that, but he is willing to use that threat in order to get what he wants from Golden State.
