Is Klay Done In Golden State?

Is Klay Done In Golden State?

[Music] Klay Thompson’s free agency is one of the most fascinating storylines of the offseason the 13-year veteran is still a valuable component of modern offenses but Thompson needs to be realistic about that value at this stage of his career it might be painful for warriors fans to Envision clay in another Jersey but golden state is right to play hard ball with the fortime champion a five-time All-Star two-time all NBA and onetime all defensive team selection Thompson is undoubtedly one of the greatest warriors of all time and is surely on his way to the hall of fame he’s been an integral piece of the 21st Century’s most dominant teams and the dubs probably wouldn’t have four titles over the last 10 years without him again it is iadala Thompson Fires for three yes Golden State by three Thompson’s number 11 will deservedly be hanging in the chase Center Rafters one day but this is business and teams in the Warriors position can’t be handing out lifetime achievement awards with Steph Curry making $55 million plus per year the next two years Draymond Green’s invaluable two-way contributions having already earned him a contract through 2027 Andrew wiggin still owed more than $84 million and youngsters like Jonathan kaminga and Moses Moody seeking extensions Golden State needs to be very careful about how it spends its money this summer and to be clear I’m not just talking about the luxury tax or in the Warrior’s case the dreaded repeater tax who cares about billionaire owners trying to save money this is about preserving as much cap and roster flexibility as possible in the age of the second apron every dollar counts towards ducking the apron whether this year or at some point over the life of Clay’s new contract the second apron especially comes with a Litany of roster construction restrictions it’s fine if that’s the trade-off for legitimate Championship contention but the Warriors aren’t good enough as presently constructed and simply giving Thompson what he wants is a sure way to guarantee mediocrity for the foreseeable future as a 34-year-old with major knee and achilles injuries in his past Clay’s not going to get any livelier and we’ve already seen his quickness take a hit especially on the defensive end next season will mark years since his last All-Star birth while still a terrific shooter on tremendous volume Thompson has shot under 39% from Deep twice in the last 3 years after being a 40 plus% shooter in each of his first eight seasons he also famously went 0 for 10 from the field and 0 for six from deep in the Warriors 2024 play and loss again even in a diminished State Clay’s General shooting abilities his off ball movement and the spacing it all provides will be in demand on some level this summer but he’s a far cry from the player that would have been worth an automatic Max years ago Plus Brandon Pensky who’s already taken some of Clay’s minutes can fill at least part of any clay-sized void while still playing on a rookie scale contract Futures now old man I understand the idea that teams should do right by their franchise icons but the most valuable of those Warriors icons the one whose presence made all this possible is Thompson’s Splash brother Steph Curry and doing right by him means trying to keep as competitive a team as possible around Curry for as long as he remains a warrior overpaying clay doesn’t help achieve that something like $30 to $40 million over 2 years Mak sense 75 to 100 million over 3 or 4 years does not priority one for Golden State should be exploring trade Avenues with other players to up the team ceiling if the Warriors remain interested in retaining Thompson on a reasonable deal the most sensible plan seems to be letting the veteran test the free agent Waters at which point he’d likely find no Suitor for his long-term desires and if some team out there is willing to break the bank for this version of clay well then the Warriors dilemma is solved for them as with any decision of this magnitude there are risks involved it’s possible the Warriors strike out on the trade front one of the best players in franchise history walks for nothing and the dubs are left without the cap space to replace him but giving a fading vet a blank check isn’t exactly risk-free free either it’s not personal it’s strictly business [Music]

Klay Thompson’s free agency is one of the most fascinating storylines of the offseason.

The 13-year veteran is still a valuable component of modern offenses, but Thompson needs to be realistic about that value at this stage of his career.

It might be painful for Warriors fans to envision Klay in another team’s jersey, but Golden State is right to play hard ball with the four-time champion.

Written & Narrated by: Joseph Casciaro (@JosephCasciaro | X)
Produced & Edited by: Adrian Sandrovcan (@ASandrovcan | X)
Thumbnail Design by: Justin Shipley (@shipleysportstudio | Instagram)

Courtesy List: https://pastebin.com/1XaZCiMx

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