It would be a shame if Klay Thompson was ever traded but his current shooting funk means the four-time champion is no longer the surefire Warrior for life.
Thompson is off to a career-worst start to a season at Golden State with the 32-year-old struggling to splash the bottom of the net as the defending champs have lost nine of their first 15 matches.
He scored 19 on Thursday against Western Conference rivals Phoenix but again shot poorly, hitting just six of 17 from the field.
Even though Steph Curry continued his purple patch with 50 points, the visitors went down to the Suns 130-119 to sit above only five teams across both conferences in the standings.
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In an ideal world, the Warriors would keep Thompson on their roster until he decides to hang up his boots, prompting them to hang his jersey from the rafters.
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
But the franchise is facing astronomical bills under the NBA salary cap rules which taxes teams who go over their amount, multiplying the amount each successive year.
With the re-signing of younger stars Andrew Wiggins (four years, $US109 million) and Jordan Poole (four years, $140m), the Warriors are staring down the barrel of a tax bill of half a billion at the end of next season. That’s billion with a capital B.
Next season will be the final year of Thompson’s deal, in which he will pocket $43.2m, while fellow Warriors golden era comrade Draymond Green will collect $28m as long as he exercises the option on the 2023-24 season.
Warriors executives are faced with the damned if they do, damned if they don’t scenario of deciding whether Thompson, who is quickly being overtaken by Poole in the backcourt pecking order, and Green are worth the added costs that will rain down upon the franchise if they’re kept on the roster.
Thompson has done his chances of staying in the Bay Area for the rest of the season no favours with his form slump.
In his first 12 matches, he is averaging 15.1 points per game, his worst output since his rookie season in 2011-12.
His shooting splits are mediocre compared to his prime when he rivalled Curry as the smoothest outside stroke of all time.
Thompson is shooting at 35.1% from the field and 33% from three, career worsts. In fact he’s never averaged less than 40% in either category apart from his 38.5% rate from beyond the arc last season when he made his comeback from long-term leg injuries.
Universally admired for his laidback approach, he’s getting cranky in his not-so-old age and younger rivals are getting under his skin.
The vision of Suns forward Mikal Bridges holding three fingers in the face of a severely unimpressed Thompson as he sat on the bench with icepacks on both knees tells the story.
Their eighth straight road loss was the first time a defending champion has achieved the dubious honour.
There’s plenty of time for Thompson to get back into a groove and silence the critics.
But unfortunately if he cannot turn his fortunes around, he may become surplus to Golden State’s needs sooner rather than later.
Atlanta look like their risky off-season trade has had the desired effect with Dejounte Murray giving the Hawks much-needed bite in defence as well as a second elite playmaking option.
Even though they lost on Thursday to Boston, they are 9-6 and third in the Eastern Conference behind the Celtics (12-3) and Milwaukee (11-3).
Two of the Bucks’ losses have come at the hands of the Hawks.
Murray is putting up 21.3 points and 6.2 rebounds but is also dishing out 7.6 assists to give fellow All-Star guard Trae Young a reprieve on offence.
The former Spur is also making up for Young’s many deficiencies at the other end of the court, giving Atlanta a perimeter defender they desperately needed.
Lakers make or break: With LeBron James due back from his groin injury in the next game or two, LA have a chance due to a quirk in the draw to salvage their 3-10 start to the season. They will play San Antonio three times in the space of seven days and also have clashes with a couple of other tank candidates in Indiana and Detroit, plus a trip to Phoenix next Wednesday. A 5-1 or even a 4-2 run would put them back in the hunt for the playoffs. Anything less and the trigger will surely be pulled on a trade or two.
Kings to implode: Sacramento have won four straight to be 7-6 and in the Western Conference playoff equation at eighth. If history’s any guide, they will crash and burn very soon.
Kyrie’s comeback: Irving is reportedly on course to check off his list of tasks to pay penance after promoting an anti-Semitic movie on social media. The Nets have been relatively stable with a 4-3 record in his absence. If his return precipitates another downturn in form, Brooklyn might even waive him rather than try to rehabilitate his trade value in the final year of his deal.
Giddey heights: Even though it’s Madison Square Garden, it’s a relatively meaningless stat that Josh Giddey registered during the week when he became the second player to have triple-doubles in their first two matches at the iconic venue. But the fact that rising Aussie star joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to have achieved the feat means it’s significant.
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