Klay Thompson cool on future: what are his options as a free agent?

The Warriors were left without a place in the playoffs after being dumped out of the play-in tournament by the Kings and Klay Thompson was left pondering whether he might have played his last game for the franchise.

The 34-year-old was in no mood to start discussing his future but seeing as he is officially now an unrestricted free agent, it was inevitable that the first question in the post-game press conference was about what he plans to do next.

Klay Thompson rattled by question regarding his future

Thompson retorted, “We don’t wanna talk about this season first? You wanna talk about the future? There was a lot of games played, man. That was a pretty big accomplishment.What’s up with y’all not wanting to live in the present, bro? It’s ridiculous”.

After the reporter insisted, Klay relented: “To be honest with you, I haven’t really given it much thought because of what I previously just said about the season we had and how much commitment it takes to play the games that we did, and give it our all. So I haven’t really thought about that deep into the future because I still need to process the year we had”.

Back in February, Thompson, one of four one-franchise players still currently active in the NBA, was thinking about retiring right where he started out. “I would love to be a Warrior for life... I realize that I see light at the end of the tunnel, (and) I’m not sure if I want to play until I’m 40, man. That sounds really exhausting”.

So there is a chance that he could negotiate a short, two-year deal with Golden State although he would undoubtedly have to accept a pay cut. In July 2019, Thompson agreed a five-year deal with the Warriors worth $189.9 million and an annual average salary of $37,980,720. The Warriors are believed to have opened negotiations with the player during the regular season but talks have been at a stalemate for some time.

The Dallas Mavericks have been mentioned as one potential next destination for Thompson but the Mavs are currently hard-capped and might not have the flexibility to bring him on board. Six teams are projected to have enough cap space to be able to offer him terms: both the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic could place bids that the Warriors would be unable to match. Other options include the Pistons, Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz.

Thompson’s performance levels have dipped during 2023/24 - he was averaging 17.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists - his worst figures since 2012-13. Against the the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, he posted zero from 10 in shooting, four rebounds and one assist - disappointing figures for a player whose future, for now, remains in the balance.