The Golden State Warriors re-signed Klay Thompson with an easy and painless five-year, $190 million max deal, despite being expected to miss at least half of next season with a torn ACL.
According to Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report, several minority owners with the Warriors floated the idea of seeing if Thompson might give the team a hometown discount, but they refrained from doing so in fear that he'd go back to his hometown and join either the Los Angeles Lakers or LA Clippers as an unrestricted free agent.
These owners were worried that while Thompson is part of an iconic backcourt with Stephen Curry and presents a formidable two-way punch as an elite sharpshooter and an outstanding one-on-one defender, giving him the max could make it difficult to re-sign Draymond Green, the emotional leader of the team and one who has always stepped up defensively in the playoffs.
Some were conscious of Thompson's media shyness and his stoic locker room presence, leaving some categories unchecked for a max-level player:
“He's a good player, but he's not a leader,” a Western Conference GM said. “He just shows up and hoops.”
The same could be said about the likes of Tobias Harris, Kemba Walker, Kawhi Leonard and several others. Leadership is not necessarily a max-level trait, but production surely is.
The 6-foot-7 marksman has put up 20 or more points per game in each of his five seasons and has developed into a reputable defender, earning his first All=Defensive team mention, despite missing out on the All-NBA team.
Luckily for the Warriors, the front office was ready to offer Thompson the max after he'd taken a discount on the extension of his rookie contract, giving the surefire perimeter scorer his fair due after several sacrifices made through his tenure with the team.
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