Klay Thompson may have thought that he had already hit rock bottom when the Golden State Warriors decided to bring him off the bench in the middle of the 2023-24 season. But as a lot of people can attest to, circumstances can always get worse. Thompson had the worst game of his career during the Warriors' season-ending 118-94 loss to the Sacramento Kings, with the declining Splash Brother scoring a grand total of zero points while missing all 10 of his attempts from the field.
This horrific game could not have come at a worse time for Thompson. The 34-year old shooting guard is set to enter free agency, and now, the lasting memory of his topsy-turvy 2023-24 season will be the stinker he put up against the Kings. Nonetheless, Thompson, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, is looking towards going through the free-agency process, opening up the possibility that he makes the most difficult choice of his life — leaving the Warriors franchise he has called home since 2011.
“Klay Thompson is very open to seeing his marketplace in free agency. … I'm told his free agency is gonna be about respect, it's gonna be about principle as far as where he stands in that Warriors organization. Four championships, he's come back from an ACL injury, he's come back from an Achilles injury, and because of what he's done, feeling like he's deserving [of a good payday],” Charania said on FanDuel TV.
“It's gonna be the hardest call in his life to make if he does end up finding another spot to leave, as far as calling Steph Curry, calling Draymond Green, calling them and saying I'm gone. But he is gonna be open to testing the market.”
"Klay Thompson is very open to seeing his marketplace in free agency…It's gonna be the hardest call in his life to make if he does end up finding another spot to leave, as far as calling Steph Curry, calling Draymond Green, calling them and saying I'm gone."@ShamsCharania… pic.twitter.com/ujOoZ0YPI1
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) April 17, 2024
There's no doubt that Klay Thompson is one of the most important players in the history of the Warriors franchise. But can the Warriors brass stomach having to pay another hefty luxury-tax bill for a mediocre product on the court?
The Warriors' case for paying Klay Thompson
Klay Thompson, for all his faults, remains one of the best shooters in the association. For all the talk about his decline, he still averaged 17.9 points per game on 43/39/93 shooting splits, and to top it all off, he was able to suit up in 77 games, his healthiest season since suffering the career-altering ACL injury in the 2019 NBA Finals.
One would think that, as Thompson gets more accustomed to his declined state, he'll be able to adjust his game accordingly. There's still a bit of denial on his end, but with better shot selection, the 34-year old shooting guard could avoid falling into horrendous shooting nights like he did against the Kings.
Thus, if Klay Thompson is willing to take a contract similar to the extension the Warriors offered him last offseason (two years, $48 million), then bringing him back is a no-brainer, especially given how much he means to the franchise.
The competition in free agency
The Orlando Magic, an upstart team in dire need of more high-caliber floor spacers, could threaten to snag Klay Thompson from the Warriors. The fifth seed in the Eastern Conference is currently starting Gary Harris at the two; even with Thompson in his declined state, he is still a much more lethal scorer and shooter than the Magic's current starting shooting guard.
It'll be up to Thompson to weigh just how important it will be for him to return to the Warriors, as the Magic can threaten to pony up the kind of money that would make Golden State wary. But Golden State is his home, and as the old adage goes, there is no place like it, especially when he no longer has anything to prove after etching his name in stone with his contributions to the Warriors' dynasty.
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