Golden State Warriors' shooting guard Klay Thompson should stick with shooting long bombs rather than try to dunk. Thompson suffered an epic fail when he was rim-checked while doing a 360-degree dunk attempt in front of fans in China, where he was promoting his Chinese brand shoes Anta, Thompson is known for his shooting prowess, having won the Three-Point Shootout in the NBA All-Star festivities in the past.
Thompson actually blew two wide-open dunks, missing the first one before he was checked by the rim on the second one. He was teased on Twitter by teammate Zaza Pachulia, who tweeted “Dunk contest Zaza vs @KlayThompson.
Who you got?” then put the Youtube link of Thompson failed dunks.
Despite the blunder, Thompson appeared to be in high spirits, smiling the whole time after the embarrassing failure. He signed the ball that he used for his failed dunks and gave it to a fan. As Anta’s endorser, Klay regularly visits China doing promotional appearances so he has a chance to redeem himself in the future.
Klay’s boo-boo may help relive a Sprite commercial featuring now retired NBA superstar Grant Hill.
Could Thompson be traded in the future?
According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, the Warriors will have a problem keeping all of their four superstars – Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Thompson -- in the future to due cap space.
When that point comes, Lowe said the Warriors will have to trade or release one of their stars and “Thompson would seem like the likeliest candidate.” The Warriors are expected to sign both Durant and Curry this summer while Thompson’s deal will expire in the summer of 2019 and he can become an unrestricted free agent. However, Thompson is eligible for an extension this summer but the Warriors are not expected to offer one to him at this time, considering that many of their players will turn free agents in July, Earlier, it was reported that the Warriors have tried to trade Thompson to the Indiana Pacers for Paul George.
Thompson ready to become face of a franchise
With the Warriors winning, Thompson is contented being a part of a group of superstars. However, he also dreams of becoming the face of a franchise in the future and it will not happen in Golden State, where he is currently playing second fiddle to Curry and Durant.
Despite Durant’s entry, Thompson’s scoring increased from 22.1 points to 22.3 points per game last season.
However, his scoring dropped to 15.0 points in the postseason when the Warriors let Durant took over the game, especially in the Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Durant scored 30-plus points in each of the five Finals games, earning him the Finals MVP trophy.
