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Klay Thompson Rumors: Lakers in Mix Due to Cap Space If Warriors Don't Offer Max
June 28, 2019
Golden State Warriors free-agent shooting guard Klay Thompson will listen to pitches from the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers if he does not receive a five-year, $190 million max offer from the Dubs, according to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
Turner also pointed out the Lakers now have $32 million in cap space after making a few moves, enabling them to offer Thompson a max deal.
Golden State still looks like the favorite to retain Thompson, though.
Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle reported June 14 that the Warriors are expected to offer the five-year max. Furthermore, Mychal Thompson (Klay's father) told Letourneau there was "no question" his son would head back to Golden State.
ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported on First Take on June 14 that the Warriors were expected to offer Thompson and Kevin Durant five-year max deals.
Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported Wednesday that the five-time All-Star and the Warriors will meet in Los Angeles, and a "quick agreement" is expected if Golden State presents the five-year max.
Thompson suffered a torn ACL in the NBA Finals that should sideline him well into next year at minimum. However, that reportedly hasn't hurt his market and for good reason.
The shooting guard has been sensational during his eight-year career in Golden State, making five All-Star games and helping the Warriors win three NBA titles. He averaged 21.5 points per game on 46.7 percent shooting last season and has never shot fewer than 40.1 percent from three-point range in a given year.
Thompson looks like a one-team player for the duration of his career, but there has been a small amount of chatter connecting Thompson elsewhere even though nothing seems too serious.
Sam Amick of The Athletic wrote that "a source with knowledge of Thompson’s situation said his private handling of the matter has still left the door out of The Bay open ever so slightly." Amick further mentioned that the Los Angeles Clippers "would be ecstatic" about the prospect.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on the Woj & Lowe podcast (h/t Tamryn Spruill of Warriors Wire) that "it hasn’t been communicated to [Thompson] that [a max deal] is for sure coming."
Wojnarowski further said that "the one team that my information [says] he would be pretty open to going and sitting down with is the Clippers."
Overall, the Lakers may have the cap space, but the Warriors still look like the heavy favorites to land Thompson, with the Clippers a distant second and the Lakers barely in the picture.