Sports
NBA Rumors: Warriors' Klay Thompson Could Get 4-Year Contract Worth $30-35M Per Year – Bleacher Report
The Golden State Warriors and Klay Thompson have not yet agreed to a contract extension, but league executives reportedly believe he’ll land a four-year deal worth between $30-35 million per season.
Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated reported that number “sounds reasonable” given Thompson’s current production and the Warriors’ commitment to keeping him, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green together.
Green signed a four-year, $100 million contract in July, and Curry is under contract through the 2025-26 season.
Thompson’s contractual status is a little murkier given his recent injury history. He missed 30 months of basketball after suffering a torn ACL during the 2019 NBA Finals and then a torn Achilles a year later. The 2022-23 campaign was his first full season since 2018-19, and he largely returned to form as an offensive player.
Thompson averaged 21.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists and shot 41.2 percent from three-point range but returned to an NBA that has largely caught up to his scoring prowess. There were 58 players who averaged 20 or more points per game last season and 36 players who knocked down at least 40 percent of their threes.
In contrast, there were just 35 20-point scorers and 22 40-percent three-point shooters in 2018-19. With Thompson taking a noticeable dip on the defensive end, it’s fair to say his value is way less relative to the rest of the league than it was when he signed his last contract.
Not that Thompson sees it that way, of course.
“I think (my struggles were) a little overrated,” Thompson said, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “The microscope on our team now is insane. You gotta accept that. I didn’t shoot the ball well at times. I’m human. But guess what? I still led the league in made 3s and shot 41 percent. That’s insane. Over 300 makes. I’m not going to sell myself short. I know how incredible that is. To do that after an ACL and an Achilles, that’s hard work.”
Hard work aside, Thompson will need to show better lateral quickness on the defensive end to make himself worth $30-35 million a year in the modern NBA. If he becomes a turnstile as he reaches his mid-late 30s, that deal could quickly look like an overpay.
