The Golden State Warriors are working on a potential sign-and-trade to help their disgruntled star Klay Thompson squeeze more money in his next contract while getting something in return.
According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Warriors have active discussions with both their Western Conference rivals Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers about a Thompson deal.
“The Mavericks right now are in a little better position because they have already made a trade involving Tim Hardaway Jr. [with] trade exception, which could be attractive. The Lakers have a window to do the same thing. We’ll see if they’re able to do it. But they’re both trying to give Klay contracts in the four-year, $70 million range in a sign and trade,” Windhorst said on ESPN’s “Get Up” on July 1.
Thompson declined a two-year, $48 million offer from the Warriors last offseason, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. The tension-filled extension talks signaled the beginning of the end of his tenure with the Warriors. Now, Thompson would be settling for roughly $7 million less in annual salary but tacking on an additional two years.
But at the very least, it’s for more than the $12.9 million full midlevel exception.
Mavericks Ahead of Lakers For Now
LeBron James‘ agent, Klucth Sports CEO Rich Paul, previously told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin that the Lakers superstar is willing to take a paycut for the team to open up their full midlevel exception to add an impact player such as Thompson.
“He is prioritizing a roster improvement. He’s been adamant about exuding all efforts to improve the roster,” Paul told ESPN, as McMenamin tweeted on X.
But it appears, it will not be enough to compete with the Mavericks.
The Lakers, according to Windhorst, are trying to make another move on top of James’ willingness to take a discount to close the gap with the Mavericks’ offer.
“Yes, LeBron has said he will take a paycut for a player like Klay Thompson. But to make this work, the Lakers are very likely going to have to make a separate trade that offloads some money,” Windhorst said. “They may be working on it right now, involving D’Angelo Russell or Gabe Vincent or somebody.
But until they have that trade, it’s hard to make an apples-to-apples comparison on the value of the offer, and then when it comes to the actual talent and what they’ve just done this past season, it’s not really comparable. The Mavericks are significantly ahead. That doesn’t mean the Lakers won’t get a move here.”
Klay Thompson ‘Felt Disrespected’
The tension between Thompson and the Warriors has been brewing since last year’s negotiation.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Thompson felt disrespected as the Warriors only offered him half of what Draymond Green received.
“Thompson was offered a two-year extension in the $50 million range by the Warriors before last season but passed on that pitch and is said to have come away from the offer feeling disrespected mere months after Green was re-signed to a four-year, $100 million pact,” Stein wrote in his Substack newsletter on June 29.
But Thompson did not help his cause as he slumped to his worst shooting season since his second year.
The 34-year-old Thompson averaged just 17.9 points per game on 43.2% shooting and 38.7% 3-point shooting. His struggles prompted Warriors coach Steve Kerr to relegate him to a bench role for the first time in his career.
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