Warriors urged to let Klay Thompson walk, sign Wiggins

The Golden State Warriors are approaching a crossroads where they must make at least one monumental decision between youth and loyalty.

Klay Thompson will be a free agent in two summers. If they are not renewed, Andrew Wiggins will get free agency in one year, while Jordan Poole will enter a limited free agency at the same time. Draymond Green can decide to become a free agent in 2023 by opting out of the final year of his deal or his contract will expire when Thompson’s does.

The common belief is that the Warriors front office must bid farewell to at least one of these four core members of the defending championship team. Adding another layer of intrigue, one NBA executive recently said the solution to this problem is not the player most people think.

“[The Warriors] have tough decisions and if one of the decisions is to let Klay run after this contract ends, he should have some choices,” the exec told Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney on Monday. “I think, sentimentally, they’ll keep him. But if you’re talking about losing Poole or Wiggins or even Draymond to keep a 34-year-old Klay Thompson – if you’re making the decision strictly about basketball… you should let Klay go.”

The argument against Thompson is that Wiggins and Poole could replace him with a commission. Poole was a breakthrough offensive player last season, averaging 18.5 points, four assists, 3.4 rebounds and 0.8 steals in 30 minutes of game time per night, according to Basketball Reference. He also shot 36.4% from the three-point line, a number that demands respect from opposing defenses.

Wiggins is a bit of a poor man’s Thompson when it was at its peak, a two-way player capable of guarding the opponent’s best offensive option and having enough left over to make a meaningful contribution to the offensive end. Wiggins averaged 17.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists last season and steals just 32 minutes at a time. He also shot well from behind the arc, posting a career-high 39.3%.

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Warriors did well by Klay Thompson with current contract

The way out for the Warriors is if two or three of the aforementioned players, including Thompson, were willing to make a significant pay cut to stay with Golden State when their time came.

The director told Deveney that the prime candidate for such a move may well be Thompson, particularly after the most recent deal the Dubs offered him.

The first is, [Thompson] doesn’t want to leave voluntarily. If you ask around in the league, I don’t think there are many players happier in their situation than Klay Thompson in the Bay Area, who plays for the Warriors.

It’s not like they mistreated Klay. They gave him nearly $200 million a few weeks after he tore his ACL and they knew he would be out of action for a year. Maybe he would take a big discount to stay, he’s a little off beat like that. I’m not sure if getting every penny he can drives him.

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Klay Thompson gets suitors when warriors let him walk

Finally, the executive noted that Thompson will have several free agency options in 2024 should the Warriors decide to end the relationship, or if he does it himself.

At the top of that list are the Los Angeles Lakers. Thompson could join LeBron James and Anthony Davis in a super senior version of a super team as they would be 34, 39 and 31 years old respectively.

Another option would be the Sacramento Kings, the director said, which will likely continue to be led by new head coach Mike Brown, who has served as Steve Kerr’s assistant at Golden State in recent years. However, the Kings franchise would need to demonstrate the ability to win in a real way to seduce Thompson as he nears the end of his career.

The third team the NBA manager mentioned to Deveney as a possible fit for Thompson was the Portland Trail Blazers.