For every contending team, the bill comes due eventually. Such is the life in salary-capped North American professional leagues, and the NBA is no exception. Thus, every aspiring championship team must make the most out of their stint on the NBA's mountaintop, and to their credit, the Golden State Warriors — winner of four championships since 2015 — have done exactly that.
However, the NBA is an unforgiving business, and Father Time an even more unforgiving detriment. Thus, it's certainly looking like the Warriors' days atop the NBA are limited. This was especially apparent in their crushing Game 6 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, when Klay Thompson, a man of many heroics during the Dubs' previous runs to the championship, missed 16 of his 19 shot attempts en route to a 21-point blowout defeat.
With Jordan Poole's max extension kicking in for next season, the Warriors' luxury tax bill will soon reach unprecedented heights, especially if they decide to retain Draymond Green. Poole's value is at its lowest, given his disproportionate production relative to his cost, so the Warriors may refrain from trading away one of the players they thought would soon carry the torch for their next era of contention.
Meanwhile, Green showed throughout the 2023 playoffs just how invaluable he is to the Warriors on both ends of the floor, acting as the offensive conductor alongside Stephen Curry while anchoring their defense with his immense smarts and versatility.
Therefore, trading away Klay Thompson's $43 million contract could prove to be an enticing option should the Warriors decide to relieve themselves of such an onerous tax bill. Thompson may have ended the playoffs building the Warriors a mansion with his bricks, but his 3 and D skillset, even at his declined state, remains a necessity for most aspiring playoff contenders.
With that said, here are three teams that could emerge as ideal destinations for Thompson should the Warriors cut bait on him.
Atlanta Hawks
Any team that could decide to trade for Klay Thompson will be a team with a great sense of urgency. Either that team is racing against time to keep a disgruntled superstar in town, so they gamble on Thompson's two-way prowess bouncing back to provide some semblance of help, or that team is out a few first-round picks and the front office wants to win now. The Hawks are an example of the latter, as they are out a few picks thanks to the Dejounte Murray trade.
Throughout the 2022-23 campaign, the Hawks have struggled to space the floor; they ended the regular season with the fifth-least made threes, which is a startling development after ranking 11th the season prior. Thompson may no longer be the player he once was, but he can still make threes at a reasonable rate throughout the regular season, which would essentially make life easier for the backcourt of Trae Young and Murray.
With Saddiq Bey and De'Andre Hunter around as options at the four, the Hawks could run a spacious four-out, one-in offense, which head coach Quin Snyder has flourished with during his stint with the Utah Jazz. Thompson, Hunter, and Murray will be an especially pesky defensive trio as well, able to cover enough ground to help compensate for Young's shortcomings on that end of the floor.
For this trade to happen, the Hawks will have to relinquish John Collins and Bogdan Bogdanovic, which isn't exactly ideal given the uncertainty surrounding Klay Thompson's future. But the on-court fit is seamless, and it may also allow the Hawks to be players in the free agent market in 2024.
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavs will want to add as much talent as they could this offseason, especially after their disappointing season that ended with them missing the play-in tournament entirely. This could make the Mavs front office sweat regarding their prospects of retaining Luka Doncic when his contract runs out in 2026 (player option).
They also have plenty of tradeable, if onerous, contracts that they could package for Klay Thompson, which makes the Mavs one of the teams that could realistically pull off a deal for the Warriors sharpshooter. Reggie Bullock, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Davis Bertans are three eight-digit contracts that Mavs could combine.
Much like in the Hawks' situation, the on-court fit is seamless. Thompson should flourish alongside two All-NBA caliber ballhandlers in Doncic and Kyrie Irving (should he re-sign), and his perimeter defense allows him to stay on the court even if he's not particularly on point from deep.
But this is a potential deal that the Warriors may shy away from, as keeping Klay Thompson definitely seems more enticing than trading a beloved franchise icon away for three of the Mavs' spare parts.
Philadelphia 76ers
The sting of the Sixers' Game 7 defeat against the Boston Celtics is still fresh, but it's never too early to look towards the future and wonder how in the world they would bounce back from yet another heartbreaking defeat in the second round of the playoffs.
James Harden and Joel Embiid were mainly at fault for their putrid offensive showing, doing nothing to assuage everyone's concerns regarding their inability to show up when it matters most. So why not trade for someone who's been through everything in the past, like Klay Thompson, to help them navigate the throes of a deep postseason run? (PJ Tucker is on the roster, but it never hurts to have another championship winner on the team.)
It's unclear what the Warriors' interest level towards Tobias Harris is, but any trade between them and the Sixers will center on Harris' huge contract. Both Thompson and Harris will be on the last years of their deals, and if either party decide that a change of scenery is what's best, then Thompson will have difficulties finding a more ready-made contender who can fit him right in off the bat.
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