Report: No ‘substantive’ Klay-Warriors contract talks yet originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Before the 2022-23 NBA season, the Warriors came to terms on contract extensions for both Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole.
Stars Draymond Green and Klay Thompson did not receive extensions, however, with ESPN’s Zach Lowe reporting, citing sources, that the Warriors “did not hold substantive discussions” with the latter this summer.
The timeline for Thompson’s current contract likely played a role in that decision.
While both Thompson and Green have two years left on their respective contracts, the sharpshooter’s deal is fully guaranteed for this season and the next while Green has a player option for next season.
Should Green opt out of his contract, he can be an unrestricted free agent one year earlier than Thompson.
As such, the Warriors have more time to properly negotiate a contract extension with Thompson, who isn’t set to be a free agent until July 2024.
It stands to reason why the Warriors would want to wait to have meaningful contract discussions with Thompson. The 32-year-old is coming off two devastating lower leg injuries, and it is only fair to see what kind of player he will be in the coming years.
In eight games played this season, Thompson is averaging 15.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 26.8 minutes per game.
Though his rebounding and assists numbers are consistent with his career stats, he is shooting a career-worst 36.4 percent from the field and 32.9 percent from 3-point land.
Perhaps a pay cut could be in order as the Warriors paying Thompson, Poole and Steph Curry each the max available could make it difficult to get and retain pieces needed to compete for championships.
As it stands, Thompson is expected to make $43.2 million in the 2023-24 NBA season. Depending on how he performs, Thompson could see that number drop to the mid-$20 million to low-$30 million range in the future, if he signs an extension.
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To his credit, Thompson told NBA.com’s Mark Medina that he is “not worried about an extension” and is confident a deal will be sorted out.
That said, expect contract discussions between Thompson and the Warriors to intensify as time goes by.