The rumors surrounding the Golden State Warriors shaking up their incredibly talented roster have already begun, and the latest one doesn’t even involve Kevin Durant.
Brian Scalabrine, a former Boston Celtics fan favorite who now works as an analyst for Comcast SportsNet, said on SiriusXM NBA Radio over the weekend that he heard Klay Thompson “might be available” via trade. Scalabrine expressed doubt that the Warriors will trade Thompson, but he got into a lot of detail about a potential deal between Golden State and the Celtics.
Here’s more from Jay King of MassLive.com:
“I don’t understand why they would (trade him),” Scalabrine said. “But maybe they’re on what I’m on. It’s going to be impossible to win a championship without having rim protection against LeBron (James) and Kyrie (Irving). So who’s your most valuable asset, or who’s your most unneeded asset at this point? I don’t know, but I heard that rumor going around and it was specifically to a team that wears green.”
Scalabrine proceeded to outline the framework of a trade: the Celtics would move Jae Crowder, Avery Bradley and the Brooklyn Nets’ 2017 first-rounder (which Boston should own by virtue of a pick swap) to the Warriors, who could then flip the expected lottery pick for a young rim protector.
Scalabrine was discussing the rumor with Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, who was in disbelief at first but later conceded that the deal would not be a “terrible trade” for the Warriors. You can hear the full exchange below:
Sam Amick of USA Today spoke with a Warriors official who shot down the rumor.
On the Klay Thompson-to-Boston front, Warriors are shooting down the notion that there have been any actual talks. Interesting idea though.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) November 14, 2016
We highly doubt this deal will happen. Thompson is one of the most underrated players in the NBA, and he is signed through the 2018-2019 season at a very team-friendly price of around $17 million per year. While some would argue that Thompson sounded a little irritated when the Warriors signed Kevin Durant, it’s hard to imagine Golden State trading him without seeing what Thompson, Durant and Stephen Curry can do together for a full season.
