Klay Thompson set to leave the Warriors: What is a sign-and-trade deal?

After 13 years together Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors look set to part ways this summer. The four-time NBA champion will enter free agency this summer and there has been no movement on an extension for Thompson, now 34 years old.

League sources claim that the Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers and Dallas Mavericks are all interested in securing his services, although he won’t come cheap. Thompson is approaching the end of a five-year deal worth $190 million.

After failing to make the playoffs last season the Warriors are targeting a major offseason overhaul. In Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski they have already drafted possible replacements for Thompson, while the extension for Jordan Poole gives them more options in that department.

What is a sign-and-trade deal?

The Warriors are the only team that Thompson has known during his time in NBA and, although there are now tensions between the two parties, a real relationship remains.

He will almost certainly leave this summer but Thompson could still receive a ‘sign-and-trade’ deal that would allow him to maximise his earnings at his next team.

The NBA’s salary cap rules place restrictions on the salary and contract length that can be offered to players in free agency. Teams therefore sometimes enact a sign-and-trade deal, offering a new contract to the player before immediately selling them as a contracted player. The new team will then be obliged to honour the same terms of the recently signed deal.

However it’s not only an act of kindness from the Warriors, it also allows them to realise some of the value from their asset. Thompson is a blue chip name in NBA and he still has considerable value on the market, enough to help fund the Warriors’ much-hyped offseason overhaul.