Klay Thompson is not going anywhere this season. The guard survived all of the Kevin Love trade rumors. After hearing his name tossed in every possible scenario as the team chased the Timberwolves forward, Thompson remains on the roster. Golden State spent most of the offseason talking about just how valuable Thompson is to the Warriors roster and now he is ready to see that in the form of dollar signs.
Thompson is set to become a restricted free agent come next summer. Thompson wants a big contract and the Warriors did not gain themselves any leverage by continuing to say just how valuable the guard was to their future success. Thompson is now getting involved in negotiations with Golden State, but Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders is reporting that things are not going well and an extension is unlikely this offseason and will hit restricted free agency.
Kyler reports that Thompson and the Warriors are on very different levels when it comes to his worth. The guard was a max contract. Golden State is not offering it. A max deal for Thompson would be $12 million more than what Stephen Curry is currently earning. Curry signed a four-year, $48 million contract and the Warriors are going to hold Thompson to the same standard. The guard might be one of the best young players in the league, but Curry is the face of the franchise, so he will not earn more.
Golden State will do everything in their power not to lose Thompson. They did not want to trade him in the first place, meaning what they said about how valuable he is. However, they might leave it up to the market to determine the price of Thompson's worth. That could easily force Golden State to give him a max contract considering how many teams are interested in his skillset.
Thompson does not want to leave Golden State. Curry went on the "Dan Patrick Show" recently and said that Thompson was thrilled to remain with the Warriors and is hopeful a contract extension gets done quickly.
"He actually took it pretty well." Curry said. "Those rumors come around obviously every summer with free agency and teams trying to get better, and it's going to be hard at some point in your career to avoid it, so he took it well. Obviously, our trade didn't go through. It didn't happen, and they're keeping our core intact, so I know he's pretty happy with how things turned out."
