According to reports, the Golden State Warriors have recouped two second-round picks from the Dallas Mavericks as part of the Klay Thompson sign-and-trade deal. That’s not exactly a massive haul for the Dubs, but it’s obviously better than losing the five-time All-Star for nothing.
As it turns out, however, the Warriors had an opportunity to pick up a more substantial asset from the Los Angeles Lakers. Golden State, however, opted to reject LA’s bid in favor of Dallas’ offer.
Golden State Warriors Rejected D’Angelo Russell Trade Offer
According to NBA insider Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report, the Lakers “made a pretty compelling offer” to Golden State for Thompson. The package was reportedly centered around D’Angelo Russell, who could have reunited with the Warriors after his brief yet memorable stint in the Bay Area four years ago:
“I was told that it would have likely involved D’Angelo Russell being a part of the deal to get Klay,” Haynes said. “From what I was told, the Warriors weren’t interested in bringing back D’Angelo Russell.”
A number of factors come into play here. For starters, it was reported that Thompson himself picked the Mavs over the Lakers for a number of compelling reasons, so perhaps the Warriors were never in a position to accept LA’s offer.
There’s also a lot of uncertainty surrounding Russell’s future, considering how has just one year remaining on his current deal after he picked up the player option of his contract for 2024-25. He’s also owed $18.7 million for the upcoming season, and it does not seem like the Warriors are willing to give up that amount of money for a player like Russell.
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