Klay Thompson Believes He Will Remain a Warrior

According to Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports, Klay Thompson is confident that he’ll be a part of the Golden State Warriors this upcoming season, despite being linked to the Kevin Love trade rumors this offseason.

The Warriors have gone back and forth on if they want to include Thompson in a trade for Love, but as of recently, they’ve made it fairly clear to the Minnesota Timberwolves that they do not want to trade Thompson.

Thompson likes the Warriors’ core and wants to be a part of it going forward. Thompson spoke to Spears about this:

"“We got a good core. I feel we have one of the better backcourts in the league,” Thompson, referring to his backcourt mate Stephen Curry, told Yahoo Sports on Sunday.“I feel like we have a team that can do big things. Health is going to be huge, but I feel like we can make big strides this year.“The fact that I haven’t been traded yet makes me feel comfortable. That speaks for itself.”…When asked if he was attracted to being a team’s No. 1 player, Thompson said: “I’m attracted to winning. I think [the Warriors] have the team to win right now. It would be tough to leave.”"

Stephen Curry, Thompson’s backcourt mate and fellow Splash Brother, also believes that Thompson will remain a Warrior. Curry has been vocal about his desire to play with the Thompson and for the Warriors to keep him around. Curry spoke to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle about this early in the offseason:

"Q. How important is it that you guys hold onto Klay Thompson? SC: “It’s huge. I love playing with him. He makes me better, and I try to make him better. How much better he’s gotten since Day 1 is kind of scary. He’s such a great two-way player, and he isn’t anywhere close to hitting his ceiling. I definitely want to continue to have him as my backcourt mate, keep pushing and growing together and not waste a nickname.”"

Now further into the offseason and after Thompson’s name has been more regularly included in trade rumors for Love, Curry addressed the issue again with Spears.

"“Every year there is some rumor in play and teams are trying to make a power move,” Curry said. “But they’ve made a decision, at least it seems like they have, that Klay is an investment they don’t want to give up. That speaks volumes to what he has been able to do in his career and his potential. I’m happy that he’s my backcourt mate.”"

Thompson told Spears that he has spoken to new Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr recently, and he “got that vibe” from Kerr that he wouldn’t be traded. Kerr has also been an advocate for keeping Thompson, and it has been reported that he told Thompson to not worry about being traded.

The biggest debate of the offseason for Warriors fans has been about whether or not the Warriors should include Thompson in a deal for the Love. The idea of Love in the Warriors’ starting lineup is certainly intriguing, but keeping Thompson and investing in his future development might greatly benefit the Warriors as well.

It doesn’t appear as if the Warriors will be able to land Love. Are the Warriors making a mistake by being unwilling to trade Thompson?