Denver Nuggets & Philadelphia 76ers interested in Golden State Warriors Klay Thompson. What do we know?
There is a problem brewing in the Bay Area, but it may be that someone else is about to profit from the services of one of the league’s best shooting guards.
It appears that the Warriors and one of their core players are about to part ways. That of course brings us to the question of where he will end up. By all accounts and understandably so, there are few teams that are interested. Let’s take a look.
Sixers & Nuggets enter Klay Thompson sweepstakes
With the 2024 NBA Draft now concluded, we’re still putting together the pieces, but while we do that we’ve got to take into account that it isn’t the only change maker ahead of this coming season. Indeed, there is also free agency which will open on June 30th, and by the looks of things, it’s set to be one of the most interesting free agency periods in quite some time, with the Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson expected to be in the market.
If you didn’t know, recent reports have indicated that Thompson and the franchise have come to an impasse over a new deal. To that end, what we’re looking at is the departure of a player who has only played for the team that drafted him. With that in mind, the focus shifts completely to where the star shooting guard could end up should he leave the team with which he made his name. This brings us to Friday’s report from The Athletic which seemed to suggest that two major NBA contenders are interested in the the services of Thompson, namely last year’s champions, the Denver Nuggets, and a team that has aspirations, the Philadelphia 76ers.
“A league source said Philadelphia has interest in Thompson,” The Athletic’s report declared. “If the Nuggets lose free-agent-to-be Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who has decided to decline his player option and enter the market, a league source said Denver has pegged Thompson as a possible replacement.” Now, this is where things get interesting. Where the Nuggets are concerned, logic would dictate that they can’t be in the running for a player who has high salary demands when considering they are set to pay Nikola Jokic, Michael Porter Jr., and Jamal Murray $123 million combined next season. On the other hand, reports have also suggested that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope could soon be on the move. Should that be the case, it stands to reason that his $15.4 million being removed would go a long way toward making other moves possible, especially if we’re talking about a sign-and-trade deal.
Where the 76ers are concerned, one has to be honest that the idea comes as less of a surprise. It’s no secret that Philly lacks the missing piece of a triangle that would in theory include Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey who is reportedly set for a max contract extension. There is also a rumor about Paul George, however, if we’re honest Thompson provides the same contribution and possibly more. That said, the 34-year-old has suffered a major injury in his career and is fresh off of a less-than-productive season. What that means is to watch this space because things are about to get interesting.