NBA Rumors: Is there a growing chance that Klay Thompson will leave the Golden State Warriors in free agency next summer?
The Golden State Warriors made one thing clear this offseason – they’ve doubled down on their veteran core and they’re all-in on maximizing their current championship window. They made that evident after they re-signed Draymond Green this offseason after months of speculation that a divorce might’ve been on the horizon.
In the end, the rumors were nothing more than rumors. Draymond is back with the Warriors and as soon as it happened, the overwhelming belief was that the natural next step was for Golden State to also lock up Klay Thompson for the foreseeable future. However, that hasn’t exactly happened just yet.
With the start of the regular season roughly a week away, Thompson is likely going to head into the season on a lame-duck contract. While talks have been happening, there’s a growing chance that Thompson will enter free agency next summer.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, there has been “no progress” in extension talks between Thompson and the Warriors. Woj would go on to say that there’s a very “real possibility” that Thompson enters free agency next summer without a deal.
It’s been reported that Klay wants to remain in Golden State and the Warriors probably want to keep him too. However, the NBA business is a complicated one.
Can the Golden State Warriors keep its core together?
At this point, the Warriors must do whatever it takes to keep their core together. Their core three Stephen Curry, Klay, and Draymond are still playing at a high level. Add in the supporting cast of Andrew Wiggins, Chris Paul, and the young players and it would be rash for the Warriors to move on from one of their key contributors.
At least not until their championship window is completely shut. Even then, it would be a great story if the Warriors were able to allow their core three to finish their careers in Golden State. It’d be so uncommon with how the NBA has trended recently.
I find it hard to believe that the Warriors and Thompson won’t figure things out. It seems that after re-signing Draymond, the Warriors will find a way to lock up Thompson too. It would be odd for them not to make it happen, especially after trading Jordan Poole during the offseason.