Magic, Klay Thompson reportedly have 'mutual interest'
Klay Thompson.
Klay Thompson’s future with the Golden State Warriors is far from certain. He’s entering unrestricted free agency in the summer, and the Warriors front office has yet to extend him a contract offer.
While Thompson has been vocal about his desire to remain in the Bay Area, he could potentially be tempted to jump ship if a substantial offer comes across his desk that also includes a starting role.
According to NBA insider Shams Charania, who appeared on Monday’s episode of FanDuel TV’s “Run it Back,” the Orlando Magic and Thompson have a mutual interest in teaming up during the offseason.
“The Magic can open up an excess of $60M in cap space this off-season … One name to keep an eye on, Klay Thompson, I’m told there is mutual interest between the Magic and Klay Thompson,” Charania said. “Thompson, along with several other vets around the league, are looking at the Magic as a situation where if you plug in a guy like Klay Thompson, plug in another veteran … This team can make a real jump.”
Thompson’s next contract will likely be considerably less than the $43.2M he earned this season. Golden State has expressed its desire to avoid the luxury tax this summer.
“Our Plan 1, or 1A, is actually we’d like to be out of the tax, and we think that we have a way to do that,” Warriors majority owner Joe Lacob told The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami. “That kind of is the plan, not just under the second apron. I’ll tell you why that’s important, because the truth is that we need to be out of the tax two years out of the next four, below the tax line, in order to get this repeater thing off our books. We don’t want to be a repeater. It’s just so prohibitive, not to say we wouldn’t do it if we had to, but you’ve gotta look at what the downside is to doing that.”
As such, the Magic could potentially offer a more substantial deal, both in terms of salary and playing time.
Orlando needs a veteran leader to help take its young core to the next level. Thompson’s experience and championship know-how would be invaluable to what Orlando is building in its locker room.
Whether Thompson is legitimately willing to leave the Warriors in the summer will remain to be seen. Nevertheless, it’s clear that he has a potential new home in Orlando waiting for him if he decides to take a leap of faith.
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