Klay Thompson is currently in the final year of his $190 million contract with the Golden State Warriors.
Thus far, negotiations for a new deal have not gone well.
In recent days, insult was added to injury when it came out that Golden State attempted to acquire LeBron James at the NBA Trade Deadline in a move that would have almost certainly required Thompson to be sent to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Thompson was visibly frosty with Stephen Curry after news of that went public.
Throughout this entire time Thompson has consistently maintained that he wants to finish his career with Golden State. That said, given his salary expectations and in light of the Warriors trying to avoid paying the luxury tax, a divorce may be inevitable.
If a split occurs, there are a number of potential teams who could step forward and claim Thompson. One particularly interesting dark horse option emerged this week.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Orlando Magic are a legit dark horse suitor for Thompson come this summer.
“Orlando has been increasingly mentioned as a potential suitor for Klay Thompson in free agency,” he wrote.
“The Magic’s available cap space is difficult to project this far out. That figure could rise as high as $45 million but depends on their future plans with free agents-to-be Markelle Fultz and Gary Harris as well as Jonathan Isaac (whose $17.4 million salary next season is non-guaranteed).”
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Thompson with Orlando would be fascinating, albeit not as satisfying as seeing him retire as a Warrior.
If anything, assuming a breakup with Golden State has to happen, it would be preferable for him to at least land with another contender.
Either way, this coming summer will be the most interesting one of Thompson’s career.
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Charles Kruger has been credentialed to cover two Super Bowls, four NBA Finals, and one World Series. A 20-year veteran in the sports world, he has sources spanning the NBA, MLB, NFL, UFC and NASCAR. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Calif., he is Game 7’s go-to source for rumors surrounding the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers.
