Four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors are looking to repeat as champs. It’s going to be an uphill climb after Golden State fell to the Sacramento Kings in Game 1 to open the 2023 NBA Playoffs Saturday night.
For the veteran and his Warriors, this is not a foreign situation to be in. However, Klay is now apparently also looking to the future. It could also have wide-ranging implications for the Warriors and a dynasty that’s hanging in the balance.
“Thompson, I’m told, has an expectation that he would be rewarded with a new, max-level contract extension this offseason,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported recently.
The NBA insider went on to note that there could be some push back from the Warriors’ ownership group of Joe Lacob and Peter Guber. Golden State is already doling out a record payroll and luxury tax.
It has Stephen Curry on a max contract with Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole also having been extended recently. Meanwhile, another core player in their dynastic run, Draymond Green, will likely opt out of his contract this summer and become a free agent.
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Projected Klay Thompson contract figures and potential extension
Based on projections and without the 2023-24 NBA salary cap not having been officially set, a max contract for Thompson would be massive. That is to say, $272.02 million over five years. For Klay, this would extend through the 2028-29 season.
- Klay Thompson contract: 5 years, $189.9 million; free agent in 2024
Thompson, 33, is set to earn $43.22 million next season before hitting free agency in the Summer of 2024.
There’s a ton of different factors that go into Golden State’s brass deciding whether to hand Thompson that max-level contract. Among them, the team’s financial situation.
“This is an inflection point now for the Golden State organization with Klay Thompson, Steph Curry and then Draymond Green, who could opt into his deal at $27 million. The Warriors could be facing a payroll and luxury tax over $500 million. It remains to be seen whether Joe Lacob is going to pay that,” Wojnarowski report on Warriors’ financial situation.
The Draymond Green situation is rather interesting. He’s said to also want a max contract during NBA free agency. If that comes with the Warriors, it would be valued at north of $138 million over four years.
If the Warriors were to pony up the cash for both, that $500 million payroll and luxury tax total would be absolutely insane. Just look at these contracts with Green and Thompson factored in:
- Klay Thompson: 5 years, $272.02 million ($54.04 million average)
- Stephen Curry: 4 years, $215.35 million ($53.84 million average)
- Andrew Wiggins: 5 years, $147.77 million ($29.54 million average)
- Draymond Green: 4 years, $138 million ($34.5 million)
- Jordan Poole: 4 years, $128 million ($32 million average)
That would be roughly $900 million allocated to just five players, three of which are past their prime.
There are other non-financial issues here, too. Thompson missed both the 2019-20 season (torn ACL) and 2020-21 season (torn Achilles) to injury. He also suited up in just 32 games last season.
Despite this, the future Hall of Famer put up an absolutely brilliant 2022-23 regular season in which he averaged 21.9 points while hitting on 41% of his threes. At least offensively, Klay Thompson is back to pre-injury form.
Whether this leads to Golden State doling out even more cash moving forward remains to be seen.