By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
The Golden State Warriors are expected to offer Klay Thompson a max contract. As soon as free agency starts on Sunday at approx. 6 pm EST, the Warriors are expected to offer him a five-year, $190 million deal.
Thompson has been expected to re-sign with the Warriors from the get-go. With Thompson expected back, it locks up another member of their core four.
This would allow Golden State to turn their attention to Kevin Durant — another member of their core four — who is expected to be one of the marquee free agents on the market. Durant has been speculated to leave for potentially the Brooklyn Nets — but nothing is official, as it is all speculation right now. He cannot officially sign with a team until July 6th when their new league year starts.
Despite the potential new contract with the Warriors, Thompson is expected to miss almost all of the 2019-20 season. The Golden State star suffered a torn ACL in Game 6 of the NBA Finals in June.
The time frame for this injury is potentially 8-10 months away from the field, but Thompson may not be the star player he is right away. Typically, that’ll take an additional year or more before he is back to normal.
The 29-year-old Los Angeles, California native was the 11th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. He has spent his entire career with the Warriors.
This past season, he made 78 appearances, including 78 starts. He averaged 21.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.6 blocks in 34 minutes per game.
The past five seasons, he has averaged more than 20 points per game. The last time he did not was during the 2013-14 season when he averaged 18.4 points per game.
In his career, he has made 615 appearances, including 578 starts. He is averaging 19.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.5 blocks in 33.1 minutes per game.
