>Adrian Wojnarowksi:”This has a chance to become the first real test of keeping together the core of Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson”
>Malika: “The first real test and right now no closer to a deal. We feel like we have to turn to you Bob Myers who have been in these conversations meetings for 10 plus years here. What is the path forward for Klay Thompson and Golden State?”
>Bob Myers: “Well this why I left first of all. A lot of times people will say it’s just business. It’s not a just business situation. There will be a statue of this guy outside of Chase Center. It’s not just simple of money and years. This is why it was hard for me. Because you have relationships with these people especially if you succeeded with them and that core has been together for 12 years.”
[Source](https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1713734551980364057)
by urfaselol
31 Comments
Coward!
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This reads to me as “these type of situations are why I left” rather than “this direct situation with Klay is the specific reason I left”.
They can keep Klay at around $30M a year since every non-vet min on the Warriors amounts to $140M.
But that’ll require keeping Kuminga/Moody on their rookie scale contracts until the last minute and potentially not extending them at all.
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I would find it hard to believe that Klay doesn’t end up staying and retiring a Warrior, max extension or not. I think the real question is just going to end up being how much the Warriors are willing to handicap themselves for the foreseeable future. I also think that when you’ve had a dynasty run as successful as the Warriors, sometimes the emotional decision of rewarding your guys is actually also the correct business decision even if it doesn’t look that way on the cap sheet.
running from the grind
First real test? Lol. They had notable trade talks 9 years ago. Basically as soon as it was starting to look like a core in the first place.
Bogut was hurt and Draymond had somewhat of a coming-out party, playing 32 mpg against the Clippers and averaging 12-8-3. Then there were talks of Klay for Kevin Love.
Your job got hard so you quit?
let’s wait to redditors defending multi-billionaries owners financial decisions and blame multi-millionaries players to not take a cut in salaries.
As others have mentioned, this is no shot at Klay. Just these difficult situations in general. The real story of why he’s not there is because he flopped on his chance to extend the dynasty. I’m not here to play Monday morning quarterback and say I could have done better. Drafting is hard. But in 20 & 21 he had a real shot to keep this thing going. Kuminga could still be solid. Moody too. But they likely won’t reach the levels that others have and will reach going forward. I don’t even need to address Wiseman.
Edit: levels reached by players drafted after them. I could name names but other teams passed on guys as well.
Damn that’s crazy. He’s basically saying Klay it’s over for u bud.
Bob should have listened to another famous Oakland GM on never building a relationship with his players
It’s not like Klay has nothing left in the tank, but I have trouble believing another team values him enough to pay more than the Warriors will. Age, injuries, defensive decline, streakier than ever… Guys at this stage tend to have a very sudden drop-off if their environment changes.
Klay isn’t worth anywhere near the amount that he wants for his extension, and Bob wasn’t going to be the guy that stops it. Not sure Dun is either, as a large part of the fandom and upper leadership talks about sentimentality being more important than common sense or logic.
Myers left at the perfect time just like Jackson leaving the Bulls. He did a great job building and leading the dynasty and now that it’s coming to an end he doesn’t have to make these brutal decisions that will lead to franchise icons with hurt feelings and/or a total rebuild.
SAS busts in on set: Now let me tell you why your wrong
We all knew this so I appreciate the honesty tbh
Tbh Dray took a yearly discount . Guys like Josh hart got 20m /yr and jerami grant zero impact metrics guys 30m+. Imo Dray definitely could’ve got a bigger sakary seeing the money going around but bakited staying where he is . There’s so many teams with less impactful 25m players . But Klay who’s less impactful then Dray is gonna want more pay cos scoring = value in players eyes
A statue? I like Klay, and obviously he means a lot to golden state, but he’ll have a statue out side the stadium?
I’d say that if it was really a 30m a year thing, this wouldn’t be a problem at all for the warriors.
The question here is just how much do those 30m cost to the team post taxes.
From Klay’s own mouth:
> Practice wrapped around 1 p.m. At just past 3 p.m., Thompson finally sat down with The Athletic for an interview on this pivotal point of his career. Several subjects were discussed. His contract situation was the hottest topic.
>
>“It’s not going to be a thing,” Thompson said. “The fact that I’m going into my 13th season —that alone — it gives me such peace of mind. Granted, I’ve made money, I’ve been able to take care of my family, myself, the people I love. But when I started playing this game, I never once thought I’m playing the game because I’m going to be rich and famous. Never did.
>
>“I played this game because my dad played. I idolized him. My favorite athletes were hoopers. Kobe (Bryant). Clyde Drexler and Rasheed Wallace, guys I was able to watch growing up. Reggie Miller. I just wanted to do something I loved for a living. It happened to be basketball. The fact I’m doing it for a 13th straight season is amazing.
>
>“I don’t need to go into this year and … I know if I just do my job and I’m in shape and I compete at my highest level, I’m going to make money in this league for a long time. So I don’t worry about it. I’m blessed beyond measure. Obviously you want to make the most in the window you have as an athlete. But I’m not going to let that get in the way of winning a championship. When you win, everything else will be taken care of.”
> But two things are clear. One, the Warriors are committed to Thompson. Part of the Jordan Poole trade was about freeing up long-term flexibility to keep Thompson around. That remains the intention. Two, Thompson’s eyes are not wandering. He is committed to the Warriors.
>
>“Yes,” Thompson said. “Absolutely. I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else. To play for one franchise, man? That’s so rare. In any sport. Football. Baseball. Basketball. Australian Rules Football. To play for one club is insane. It’s some real legendary stuff. Even what Udonis Haslem did. He’s revered in Miami. Locally. That’s what I cherish. Going around the country, going around the world and people from Northern California or Warriors fans in general are just so prideful about the Warriors. And I was here before banners were hung up. So in a way, it’s our baby. You want to ride it out. I’ve just been so lucky to be a part of this franchise. It’d be so hard to envision myself in another uniform.”
Edit to add: the Warriors payroll situation was drastically different pre-Poole trade and it was Dunleavy that made that trade so it’s important to keep that context in mind re: what Bob says here. Renegotiating Klay’s contract while Poole was still rostered/his contract was on the books is an entirely different gambit, and understandably would have been a special kind of hell for Bob to maneuver. But that’s fortunately not the circumstances Dunleavy has to work with now
They aren’t moving Klay. He’ll have to take the discount but I really don’t see him leaving the Warriors to go play on a random teams even if it’s the Lakers. Steph hasn’t declined so as long as he’s healthy, those 3 together are a championship contender.
You don’t go through all the ups and downs and successes the Warriors have the last decade, with their three core guys who they all drafted, along with Loon Dog, and not develop bonds with these players that are ultimately much deeper than just basketball.
It’s a hard job, having to separate the personal from the professional, having to separate your feelings toward a human with the duties of the job you hold. Respect to Bob Myers for providing a more human complexion to this Klay situation and these situations that GM’s across the league have to go through.
Klay has a high opinion of himself. We all know that but at the end of the day I’d be shocked if he leaves the Warriors. Anything can happen but expect both sides to figure something out. I can see the Jazz making a run for Klay if things can’t work out with Golden State before free agency.
Would any other team throw Klay a max contract at this point? I honestly don’t see that happening.
Klay to the Grizzlies confirmed
> There will be a statue of this guy outside of Chase Center.
Really?
Warriors have zero incentive to get a deal done right now. Klay is turning 34 this season, he had a great regular season last year but completely shat the bed against LA. Klay wants a longer deal, GS wants to play it out and see how he plays this year. I’m sure the Warriors will bring him back, but his play this season will determine at what cost.
Take a low pay get rid of the bench and half the bays residents for wembanyama? Take the old bay bridge too
Give him some “super incentives” deal so that the cap hit remains low and Klay can chase what he thinks he brings to the table.
Everybody wins
translation “ I don’t want to be the guy who broke up this team.”