The Golden State Warriors were thought to have the Kevin Love trade race locked down. Prior to the NBA Draft, they were offering first-round draft picks, Harrison Barnes and David Lee for the forward. However, the Minnesota Timberwolves opted not to bite at a single offer. Instead they requested more from the Warriors to tune of Klay Thompson, a request that was denied. However, with the young guard's recent contract demands, will a trade be necessary?
According to USA Today, Thompson is planning on requesting a max contract from the Golden State Warriors. Right now, the guard is set to earn $3 million next season and $4 million in 2015 while becoming a restricted free agent. Thompson's agent, Bill Duffy, is seeking a max deal in his next contract which would start at the tune $15.7 million. With that, the debate will begin on whether or not the guard is worth it.
Financially, if Golden State were to acquire Love, a max contract for the forward would be in the range of $19 million annually. Love will want that money. That would push the Warriors to the brink financially and complicate their luxury tax situation. There is no doubting that Thompson is one of the better developing players in the NBA, but is he a max contract star? Giving the guard that money is a major investment for a team that already has Stephen Curry's contract on board plus is targeting Love and his contract extension. The Warriors would be forced to move someone like Andre Iguodala or Andrew Bogut plus David Lee in order to help their future with the cap.
Could these type of demands force Golden State to add Thompson into a trade for Love? Right now the team is refusing to put the guard in with the talks for the forward, hoping instead to find a third team to ease the trade burden. The Cleveland Cavaliers are taking that approach in order to avoid trading Andrew Wiggins. They have already had discussions with the Philadelphia 76ers about making a few moves. The Warriors will look to do the same.
Officially offering up Thompson would make the Warriors the frontrunners for Love. The Timberwolves like the idea of getting the young star that has already proven himself in the league as opposed to Wiggins who has yet to play a game. He might be the No. 1 overall draft pick, but Wiggins has not yet shown if he can handle the NBA.
The Timberwolves are in no hurry to deal Love, knowing that the interest will still be there in a week. The Warriors certainly have time to figure out the right move to make when it comes to re-signing Thompson or trading him in a package for the forward.