Warriors Rumors: Playing Fact or Fiction with Latest Buzz Ahead of NBA Free Agency
The Golden State Warriors could go a number of different directions during the 2024 NBA offseason.
The only thing that feels near certain is they won't exit it looking the way did upon entry.
Changes are coming, the question is to what degree. Could the Dubs look dramatically different when they head to training camp this fall, or will they simply wind up making tweaks around the margins?
With buzz already starting to build, let's sift through the latest Warriors rumors and separate fact from fiction.
Warriors Won't Waive Kevon Looney?
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The rumor: The Warriors will guarantee all $8 million of Kevon Looney's salary for next season instead of waiving him before the final $5 million guarantees, per The Athletic's Anthony Slater.
The verdict: Fact, but maybe not a meaningful one.
With Golden State talking about potentially trying to push below the tax line, virtually every conceivable cost-cutting opportunity will warrant some consideration. Looney wasn't great this season—his 16.1 minutes were his fewest in a non-injury-impacted campaign since 2017-18—so the idea of wiping his deal from the books (or $5 million of it, anyway) was worth examining.
The reality of this situation, though, is that the financial savings weren't going to be quite what they seemed. Replacing him with a minimum player (who's probably worse) would've sliced into the potential savings, plus his fully guaranteed salary could be helpful to have if the Warriors need to match money on a sizable trade.
Tepid Market for Klay Thompson?
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The rumor: The Warriors believe Klay Thompson could encounter "a lukewarm free-agent market," per The Athletic's Anthony Slater, as the early word is "there are mostly shorter-term contracts out there for veteran free agents."
The verdict: Fact for now, but certainly subject to change.
Thompson is 34 years old, has a pair of consecutive campaign-erasing leg injuries in his past and seemingly won't revert to his old form on the defensive end. There will always be some value attached to his shooting—he just averaged 3.5 triples with a 38.7 percent splash rate—but if teams view him as akin to an aging specialist, they won't hand him a blank check.
Saying all of that, the cliche about how it only takes one interested team to boost a player's market is worth remembering here. At the moment, win-now teams with money to spend like the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic might be bracing themselves to pursue bigger fish. Watch a few of them go off the board, though, and they could still wind up prioritizing Thompson as their Plan B (or C) fallback.
Possible Klay Leaves Golden State?
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The rumor: "It has become increasingly conceivable...that Thompson will decide to leave" Golden State in free agency, per The Athletic's Anthony Slater.
The verdict: More fact than fiction, unfortunately.
Given Thompson's decorated history with the Dubs, there is a storybook ending to his free agency in which he re-signs with the only NBA franchise he's ever known. He sticks alongside splash sibling Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, as the organization allows its title-winning trio to ride off into the proverbial sunset together.
As magical as that sounds, the business of basketball is less unicorns and rainbows and more bottom lines and cold, calculated, often uncomfortable conversations. At this stage of his career, it's worth considering whether there is a better backcourt partner for Curry than Thompson.
And as the Warriors explore those alternatives, Thompson can explore his own options. That doesn't mean he is guaranteed to go, obviously, but Slater added that even if the Warriors come around to making a competitive offer, Thompson could still exit in search of "a fresh start in a different environment, detached from some of the built-up friction of the previous couple seasons."
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