Report: Warriors haven't offered Klay contract
The Golden State Warriors have yet to make a formal contract offer to Klay Thompson during their exclusive negotiating window with the impending free agent, sources told The Athletic's Anthony Slater.
Golden State is reportedly content holding off negotiations until after free agency starts June 30 at 6 p.m. ET, when Thompson will be permitted to open discussions with other teams. The Warriors' front office intends to prioritize acquiring potential upgrades elsewhere and could bring Thompson back on a cheaper deal and in a different role, according to Slater.
Thompson may opt for a change of scenery even if the Warriors circle back with a competitive deal. However, that likely won't include the Orlando Magic; despite reports of mutual interest in a deal, there's been no traction, sources told Slater.
Thompson is coming off a five-year, $189.9-million maximum contract with the Warriors. His game regressed since returning from consecutive ACL and Achilles tears that sidelined him for nearly three full calendar years.
He came off the bench for a brief period this past season for the first time since his rookie year. He shot just 38.7% from distance on nine attempts per game. That nearly matched the career-worst 38.5% he registered in 32 games in 2021-22 after returning from his prolonged injury absence. He was also just one of three Warriors players with at least 1,000 minutes in 2023-24 to finish with a negative net rating (minus-0.3), joining Andrew Wiggins (minus-1.3) and Dario Saric (minus-1.6).
His shooting struggles were arguably most apparent during April's play-in tournament when he went 0-for-10 from the floor (0-of-6 from deep) and finished without a point as the Warriors were blown out and eliminated by the Sacramento Kings.
The five-time All-Star could find success in a smaller role, however. Thompson scored 17.9 points per game last season on 43.2/38.7/92.7 shooting splits, with his 92.7% free-throw rate topping the league. However, when his shot did fall, it tended to translate to team success; the Warriors were 12-4 when Thompson scored 25 points or more, a sample size in which he attempted no fewer than seven threes per game but never shot worse than 41%.