Before the regular season began, the Warriors offered Klay Thompson a two-year extension worth in the neighborhood of $48M, Shams Charania of The Athletic said Wednesday on FanDuel’s Run it Back show (video link).
Thompson obviously passed on that offer, with multiple reports at the time suggesting that he and the Warriors were far apart on both years and money. He remains extension-eligible and could sign a new deal with Golden State at any time before he reaches free agency on July 1, but both Charania and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski have indicated there’s a very real possibility he reaches the open market next summer.
Thompson is in the final season of a five-year, $190M contract that is paying him $43.2M in 2023-24. He missed two full seasons due to knee and Achilles injuries at the start of the contract and appeared in just 32 regular season games in 2021-22.
After a solid showing in ’22-23, Thompson’s numbers are down across the board in the first couple months of this season — he’s averaging 15.4 points per game on .397/.343/.889 shooting and has recorded roughly the same number of assists (44) and turnovers (43). His field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and turnover rate are career worsts and that scoring average is his lowest since his rookie season in 2011/12.
There has been a sense that Thompson’s contract situation may be weighing on him and factoring into his slow start to the season. Head coach Steve Kerr has been patient with the veteran sharpshooter, keeping him in the starting lineup for all 22 games he has played so far this fall. However, Kerr did hold Thompson – and fellow slumping veteran Andrew Wiggins – out of Tuesday’s closing lineup, as we detailed earlier today.
“I deserved to be benched tonight. I played like crap,” Thompson said after the game, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “If you’ve ever played basketball before, you know what you’re capable of. You always want to be out there competing. That’s just facts. Whatever though. It happens. I deserved to be benched. I’ve been playing like crap. Twenty games in. I haven’t caught a good rhythm.”
Another long-term, maximum-salary contract for Thompson was never a realistic expectation, but teammate Draymond Green – who, like Thompson, is 33 years old – received a four-year, $100M commitment from Golden State over the summer. With that in mind, it’s perhaps not surprising that the five-time All-Star would view a two-year, $48M offer as insufficient after averaging 21.9 PPG with a .412 3PT% last season.
Still, unless he’s able to turn things around this season and bust out of his slump, it’s hard to imagine the Warriors adding any more years or money to the preseason offer they made to Thompson.
For what it’s worth, Thompson has said he “absolutely” wants to spend the rest of his playing career in Golden State.
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