In some ways, Klay Thompson’s departure from the Golden State Warriors — now that the legendary shooting guard has agreed in principle to join Dallas on a three-year, $50 million deal with the Mavericks, league sources confirm to Yahoo Sports — began last offseason, when the Warriors and Thompson couldn’t come to an agreement on a contract extension. Golden State offered Thompson a two-year deal, sources say, worth a total of $50 million, about half the four-year, $100 million commitment the Warriors offered Draymond Green as a free agent.
That difference in valuation between the second and third members of a legendary trio — which backstopped Stephen Curry to four championships from 2015-22 — began to move both the franchise and the player down the path that ended with Thompson’s exit. That year of inconsistent shooting was certainly an additional factor in that split. Had Thompson returned to Golden State, the Warriors had planned to bring him off the bench behind second-year guard Brandin Podziemski, sources said, after Golden State threw its prized rookie around for much of the second half of last season.
Thompson’s decision will have repercussions throughout the league, where much of the mid-range forward market is filled with forwards who were waiting for Paul George, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Thompson to come off the board before determining their own destination. The Lakers, according to sources, still have an affinity for veteran scorer DeMar DeRozan after Los Angeles finished second for Thompson. The Lakers were aware that, thanks to the $16 million traded player exception Dallas created by moving Tim Hardaway Jr. to Detroit, that three-year, $50 million cap for Thompson was what they had to contend with.
The biggest domino in Thompson’s outcome, however, could be the future of All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen. Golden State has tried to maximize its options this summer by chasing the biggest fish available for the taking. First, the Warriors moved up Chris Paul’s guarantee date to try to work out a trade for his expiring $30 million salary. The Warriors tried to negotiate a trade for Paul George with the Clippers, sources said, before the All-Star forward opted out of his contract to test free agency and eventually join Philadelphia. Golden State now remains one of the few teams most connected to pursuing Markkanen from Utah, according to league personnel.
The Jazz welcome calls about Markkanen, league sources tell Yahoo Sports. Perhaps Utah will end up having an offseason similar to Brooklyn, where the Nets once considered adding star talent alongside Mikal Bridges before determining their best course of action was to begin a rebuild — thanks to a massive trade from New York. The Jazz, as previously reported on Yahoo Sports, were considering trading Bridges, had conversations with Atlanta about Dejounte Murray and Trae Young, sources said, and were working to assemble a group around Markkanen that could have eventually caught George’s attention.
This latest round of negotiations around Markkanen could well be simply an attempt by the Jazz to gather information from interested teams, or an effort to solicit some sort of exorbitant offer akin to the five first-round picks, plus an additional unprotected pick swap from the Knicks for Bridges. The Jazz have thus far indicated to various parties around the NBA that they would still like to renegotiate and extend Markkanen’s contract when both sides are eligible to do so in August, sources said, and that listening to offers for Markkanen is simply part of doing business.
But that bargain leaves the door open, as Brooklyn did, for Bridges to cross the East River. In addition to Golden State, Sacramento and San Antonio are the two other teams considered by league insiders with knowledge of the situation to be serious potential contenders for Markkanen at this point. For the Kings to get Markkanen, NBA personnel believe the Jazz would need Sacramento to part ways with Keegan Murray, which could leave other trade options like Brandon Ingram as a more palatable outcome for the Kings. Minnesota has also shown interest in Markkanen, sources said. Philadelphia never seemed to give Markkanen much consideration throughout the Sixers’ long search for a third star to slot between Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
More Klay Thompson Fallout
After Thompson’s decision, the Warriors quickly signed mid-level De’Anthony Melton, league sources confirmed to Yahoo Sports. That deal will be a one-year, $12.8 million salary that Golden State opened up after Thompson’s big salary cap hit disappeared from their books and the Warriors waived Paul.
For Dallas, if Thompson can stabilize his outside shot and stay on the court as he approaches his 35th birthday with a lengthy injury history, the trade marks another creative victory for Nico Harrison’s Mavericks management. From acquiring Kyrie Irving at a relatively low price at the 2023 trade deadline, to the double-teaming of Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington at that deadline that helped push them to the NBA Finals, to Dallas signing Derrick Jones Jr. to a minimum contract that surely helped them get to the championship round, Harrison has proven his mettle. And while a change in Jones’ representation complicated his free agency, the Mavericks quickly signed one of their top replacement targets in former Pelicans forward Naji Marshall.
So for the Mavericks, who once appeared to be closing in on a revamped forward group that included Jones Jr. and Caldwell-Pope — via trade, before KCP opted for free agency — Dallas was able to turn Tim Hardaway Jr. and Josh Green into Thompson and Quentin Grimes, while also landing Marshall on a three-year, $27 million deal.
How the Lakers recover from the loss of Thompson will be a fascinating subplot in its own right. While LeBron James has indicated he’s willing to take a lower salary, sources say, to help Los Angeles add more talent to a team that fell in the first round of the playoffs, the clock appears to be ticking on how long James is willing to wait before he signs his next deal. For the Lakers to land DeRozan, Los Angeles may have to work with a third team to shed some of the salary, such as D’Angelo Russell or Gabe Vincent, sources say. The Nets have been open to the idea of welcoming Russell to Barclays Center since the last trade deadline, sources say.