NBA Rumors: Could a surprise Eastern Conference team swipe Klay Thompson away from the Golden State Warriors this offseason?
The Golden State Warriors have been one of the most disappointing teams in the Western Conference this season. Heading into the final stretch of the season, the Warriors are going to need to flip their play to unprecedented levels to salvage this year.
No matter how this season ends for the Warriors, whether they make the playoffs or not, there are some big questions that will be surrounding this team heading into the offseason. A decision on Klay Thompson's future will be at the forefront of those questions.
Thompson's contract expires after this season and, naturally, there will be plenty of suitors for the veteran shooting guard. The question is, will he re-sign with the Warriors or attempt to cash out for another big-money deal?
According to Marc Stein, the Magic are a team, with plenty of projected salary cap space, that could look to poach Thompson away from the Warriors during the offseason. With the way the narrative around Thompson has progressed this season, the overwhelming expectation is that he's at least going to test the free-agency market. If that ends up being the case, that's where a team like the Magic could potentially swoop in.
What will Klay Thompson prioritize this offseason?
If Thompson does end up prioritizing one more big-money contract heading into the summer, the Magic could very much compete with any other team that may be interested. In fact, the Magic might be able to outbid any other non-Warriors team when it comes to pursuing Thompson in free agency. Especially when you consider that most, if not all, of the teams that will be pursuing Thompson won't have as much cap space heading into the offseason as Orlando.
That's where the Magic could life difficult for the Warriors in their attempts to re-sign Thompson. Even though Thompson has had an inconsistent season this year in Golden State, I don't think there are many that would predict the Warriors not making an effort to re-sign him. How far they're willing to go to re-sign Thompson is the big question for Golden State heading into the offseason.
I can't help but wonder what happens if the Magic are willing to shell out a big-money deal for Thompson and the Warriors want him to take a significant pay cut to continue to build around Curry. Perhaps that's the bigger question revolving around Thompson heading into the offseason.
It's been reported that Thompson is willing to embrace a smaller role if it means him staying with the Warriors. Does that also mean taking a pay cut? Time will tell.