Golden State Warriors guard and four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson is mere months away from hitting NBA free agency.
For pretty much his entire career since Golden State made the sharp shooter the No. 11 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, it seemed like he would finish said career in the Bay Area.
Outside of his dominance on the court as one half of the Splash Brothers, he’s a fixture in the Bay Area community. Why move on from something this good?
Well, several recent reports seem to suggest that Thompson is actually willing to test the open market. One young Eastern Conference team has come up as a potential landing spot recently.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers have always been a possibility given his father’s relationship with the organization and the fact that Klay was born in Southern California.
The idea of Thompson moving on from the Warriors and the break-up of the big three seems foreign. But in today’s NBA landscape, anything is possible.
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Klay Thompson says ‘mental health’ will play role in whether he re-signs with the Golden State Warriors
Talking with teammate Draymond Green on the boisterous forward’s podcast, Thompson provided an interesting caveat on potentially re-signing with the Warriors.
“Yes I wanna re-sign with the Dubs, but I also have to prioritize my mental health and lay out what’s important to me at this point in my career,” Thompson told Green.
Indeed, the 2023-24 season has been taxing for Thompson and the Warriors. The future Hall of Famer was relegated to bench duties back in mid-February. While he has since re-joined the starting lineup, it certainly led to some combative moments behind the scenes in San Francisco.
All said, the 34-year-old Thompson has seen regression hit his game big time this season. He’s averaging 17.6 points on 38% shooting from distance. This would represent the guard’s worst scoring output since his sophomore season back in 2012-13.
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Despite this, he has performed better as of late for a Warriors team that’s locked into a play-in spot. Thompson is averaging 20.6 points while hitting on 40% of his shots from three-point range over the past 12 games. It’s not a coincidence that the Warriors are 8-4 during that 12-game span.
As for Thompson potentially re-signing with the Warriors, it’s going to be all about the money. A recent projection has him at $25 million annually on a short-term deal. Thompson’s expiring deal is paying him nearly $38 million per season.