Like his teammate Kevin Durant, shooting guard Klay Thompson expressed a willingness to take a discount to stay with the Golden State Warriors. In an interview with Marcus Thompson II and Kim Kawakami of The Athletic, Thompson said he can forego a few million just to remain with the defending NBA champions. Thompson has two years remaining from the four-year, $69 million contract that he signed with the Warriors in 2015. In 2017-18, Thompson will earn $17.8 million and almost $19 million in the final year of the deal. “It's a blessing whatever contract I sign.
I would definitely consider it because I don't want to lose anybody,” said Thompson.
However, Thompson stressed that he will not be taking a huge discount, like what Durant did during the offseason when he signed a two-year deal worth $53 million. Sam Amick of USA Today earlier reported that Durant accepted a $25 million salary for the first year of the two-year deal, instead of the maximum $34.5 million or a discount of $9.5 million. Durant was also willing to take even less just to sign Rudy Gay, who opted to join the San Antonio Spurs on a two-year deal worth $17 million.
Warriors could part ways with Thompson
Durant’s generosity allowed the Warriors to sign Stephen Curry to a five-year supermax deal worth $201 million, sixth man Andre Iguodala to a three-year $48 million deal and backup point guard Shaun Livingston to a two-year pact.
The Warriors also re-signed veterans David West, ZaZa Pachulia and JaVale McGee and signed Nick Young and Omri Casspi from the free-agent market. According to Zach Lowe of ESPN, the is a possibility that the Warriors could part ways with the 27-year-old Thompson, their 11th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, if issues regarding the team’s salary cap surfaces in the near future.
In the offseason, the Cleveland Cavaliers tried to trade Kyrie Irving for Thompson but the Warriors turned it down, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
Thompson preparing hard for coming season
Last season, Thompson averaged 22.3 points in the regular season despite his reduced touches due to the arrival of Durant. In the playoffs, Thompson’s scoring dropped to 15.0 points but it did not matter as the Warriors defeated the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals in five games.
During the Warriors’ media day, Thompson said he worked hard in the offseason to further develop his game and prepare for the challenges of the coming season. According to Thompson, many teams have beefed up their roster in an effort to dethrone the Warriors.
