Golden Gate Gossip: Klay Thompson eyeing Clippers and more Bay Area rumors
By Justin Fried
In the inaugural edition of “Golden Gate Gossip,” we take a look at various rumors from around the Bay Area including Klay Thompson eyeing the Los Angeles Clippers in free agency.
Welcome to the very first edition of “Golden Gate Gossip,” a brand new series here at Golden Gate Sports which will serve as a roundup of the various rumors from all across the Bay Area!
With NBA and NHL free agency right around the corner, there’s without a doubt plenty of rumors surrounding the basketball and hockey worlds. And, of course, those rumors extend to our very own Bay Area teams.
Today’s top rumor centers around Golden State Warriors‘ star shooting guard Klay Thompson and his impending free agency. On top of that, we will also be looking at rumors regarding the San Jose Sharks and captain Joe Pavelski as well as the San Francisco Giants‘ closer Will Smith.
Without further adieu, let’s get on with today’s bunch of rumors in the inaugural edition of Golden Gate Gossip.
1. Klay Thompson looking at Clippers in free agency
Klay Thompson is set to hit the open market this offseason after eight seasons spent in Oakland and the Warriors will have an interesting decision to make regarding his future.
While the talk all season has been that the Warriors intended to give him a max contract and extend him long-term, a torn ACL suffered in Game 6 of the NBA Finals could make things a bit more interesting.
Golden State is still expected to bring him back, but ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski has reported that the team has yet to insinuate that such a deal is definitely in place. Moreover, Wojnarowski insisted that the only other team that Thompson would potentially “sit down with” would be the Clippers.
Los Angeles is expected to be very much in the market for Toronto Raptors superstar Kawhi Leonard and Wojnarowski speculated that they could sell a potential Leonard/Thompson pairing to the Warriors’ star shooting guard.
Given what Thompson has meant to the team, it would ultimately be shocking to see him sign elsewhere this offseason. But if Golden State doesn’t offer him a max contract, it’s going to be difficult for Thompson to ultimately return.
The Warriors will also be looking at giving Kevin Durant a max contract and still have to worry about the future when Draymond Green‘s contract expires after next year.
Perhaps Golden State could be scared away by the expected luxury tax hit which would double this season after being repeat offenders for the past 4-5 seasons.
Still, it would be stunning to see Thompson donning anything other than a Warriors jersey next season. But at the very least, this is something to keep an eye on.