The Golden State Warriors have some major decisions to make in an offseason that has started prematurely for what they are used to. After losing to the Sacramento Kings in the 9-seed vs. 10-seed play-in game, the noise surrounding the downfall of this organization has grown louder. More specifically, the futures of Klay Thompson and Draymond Green alongside Stephen Curry have come into question.
Thompson is set to enter the offseason as an unrestricted free agent. Given his struggles and inconsistent role in what turned out to be one of the worst seasons of his career, Klay's contract situation remains a huge mystery. Although Green signed a four-year, $100 million contract with the team last offseason, Draymond's status with the Warriors has been clouded by his inability to remain on the floor due to his antics with other players and officials.
After traveling back to San Francisco and taking time to dwell on their loss, the Warriors have been conducting their end-of-season press conference. Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. took to the microphone on Thursday afternoon, and he outlined where the organization goes from here, specifically regarding the franchise's financial situation.
“Financials will always come into it. It's part of the puzzle,” Dunleavy stated, via The Athletic's Anthony Slater. “I wouldn't say that we are at a point now where we are saying we have to be under the tax and be under a certain apron or anything like that. We are going to look at everything. I think if you've got a team that you feel like can contend for a championship, you do what it takes financially. So, we will look at everything, we'll balance it out, and it's hard to say right now in terms of what it's going to look like and all of that because it's April. This stuff goes on in June and July.
“You know how Joe [Lacob] is with his willingness to spend and compete. I don't think there will be any restrictions, but also be prudent; to put a team out there that can't make the playoffs — we spent $400 million this year. I wouldn't recommend that, so we'll figure it out, but I don't think we have anything set in stone in terms of parameters we gotta live by.”
When questioned about Thompson's pending free agency and his willingness to sign a new contract, Dunleavy stated that it's a “mutual feeling” between the organization and Klay for him to return.
“The guy has been here a long time. He means so much to the organization,” Dunleavy said of Thompson. “We really value him, so there's nothing to make me think that he wants to go somewhere else or we don't want him back. And for that reason, I'm hopeful we can make that happen, but you know, it's a deal. Both sides have to be good with it, and we'll work through that.”
In addition to making the claim that the organization wants to bring Thompson back, Dunleavy made it clear that he doesn't see any scenario in which Green isn't back with the Warriors next season. The only way Green would be leaving Golden State is if they decided to trade him. Based on Dunleavy's comments, that doesn't appear to be a realistic scenario at this juncture.
Klay Thompson's take on Warriors future
Throughout the course of the 2023-24 season, Thompson has been very vocal about his contract situation. As far as his role coming off the bench in the middle of the year possibility influencing his decision to remain with Golden State, Klay made it clear that he wanted to be a “Warrior for life.”
During his exit interview on Wednesday, Thompson didn't necessarily share the same level of optimism regarding his future with the Warriors. Perhaps this was due to the fact that he was still getting over the play-in tournament loss to the Kings, a game in which he had zero points on 0-of-10 shooting from the floor, but the four-time champion appeared to be indecisive about his future.
“What's up with you all not wanting to live in the present, bro? To be honest, I really have not given it much thought because of what you previously said about the season we had and how much commitment it takes to play the games we did and give our all,” Thompson stated. “So, I really have not thought about that deep into the future because I still need to process the year we had. It was one filled with ups and downs.”
In a total of 77 games, Thompson averaged 17.9 points per game while shooting 38.7 percent from three-point range. While he may not be the two-way All-Star he once was, Thompson can still be a key veteran talent for any championship-contending team in this league. At the end of the day, he wants to remain with the Warriors, and the organization will want to keep him around, which is why it is hard to imagine Klay departing the Bay Area in the offseason.
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