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Klay Thompson Rumors: Hawks 'Focused' on SG If Warriors Don't Offer Max Contract
June 8, 2019
A lot of hypotheticals have to hit just right in order for the Atlanta Hawks to even get in a room with Klay Thompson.
However, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Michael Cunningham reported Tuesday that the Hawks are "confident they'd get a chance to persuade Thompson to sign with them" if the Warriors don't offer him a max contract.
More from Cunningham:
"I heard Travis Schlenk planned to make a run at Thompson as a free agent soon after the Hawks hired Schlenk as GM in 2017. I figured it was just dot-connecting speculation: Schlenk was a Warriors front-office executive when the team drafted Thompson in 2011. But since then several people in the know have insisted that Schlenk is focused on trying to sign Thompson, and now I believe that's his plan if the Warriors provide an opening."
All of this hinges on what is most probable: that the Golden State Warriors will offer their five-time All-Star a five-year deal worth roughly $190 million.
Thompson is set to become an unrestricted free agent July 1.
The 29-year-old's father and two-time NBA champion, Mychal Thompson, recently said on San Francisco radio station KNBR 680 (h/t NBC Sports): "It's not even a negotiation. It's not even an issue."
If father is speaking for son, Thompson doesn't seem to be open to taking anything less than a maximum offer. And according to Warriors owner Joe Lacob, the organization is willing to do whatever is necessary to hold on to the three-time NBA champion.
"Obviously, my intention is to keep [Stephen Curry and Thompson] as part of our organization forever," Lacob told ESPN.com's Nick Friedell last month. "That's our goal. We'll see what happens."
Lacob added:
"I have a special bond with him. I always have. He's the first player, since I bought the team, that we drafted. The very first one. And I just have always felt an incredible attachment. People make fun of me a little bit -- I always say I love Klay. I love Klay. I just do. He's so real. He's so real. There's no B.S. And there's something about him, I have a very special relationship with him."
It would be a hard sell for Thompson to leave the NBA's pedestal for the cellar. The Hawks finished the 2018-19 season at 29-53, fifth-worst in the league, while the Warriors are competing against the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 NBA Finals and hoping to complete a three-peat.
All of that said, nobody can blame the Hawks for shooting their shot.