Klay Thompson, who is expected to hit the free-agency market at the end of next season, could be another potential target for the Los Angeles Lakers, with an ugly contract impasse with the Golden State Warriors waiting in horizon.
Coming off another terrific season which saw him setting yet again career highs in points (18.4 points) and shooting percentage (44 percent from the field/41 percent from the 3-point line), the 24-year old Thompson will head into the new season with growing confidence as an emerging star in the league.
Despite being mentioned as a piece in the Warriors' trade package to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Love this offseason, the former Washington State standout remains confident that he can elevate his game to another level next season, becoming a major contributor in the Warriors' championship aspirations.
Indeed, the Warriors have a legit shot at winning it all next year, as long as the dynamic backcourt of Stephen Curry and Thompson continue their growth. Then again, next season could also be their last playing together as tandem.
With four players (Currym David Lee, Andrew Bogut and Andrie Iguodala) already receiving seven-digit salaries for the next two seasons, Thompson could be the odd man out as many analysts believed the Warriors cannot afford to give him a max contract or even a salary worth at least 10 million per year. Not unless a major spike in the salary cap takes place.
In his latest article on Sheridan Hoops, NBA writer Shlomo Sprung talked about Thompson's upcoming free-agency and the dilemma the Warriors will be facing next summer.
He believed the Thompson's situation could be as nasty as what Eric Bledsoe and the Phoenix Suns contract impasse. With another big year, Thompson will have the leverage to ask for a contract that pays him $12MM to $15MM per year - which is an amount of money the Warriors are unlikely to give.
"Thompson will probably ask for a max contract one year from now that Golden State probably doesn't want to give, and likely cannot afford. Thanks to the handy, convenient SheridanHoops Warriors Salary Page, we see that four players are already set to make more than $10 million per season in the 2015-2016 season and three in the 2016-2017 season. Until the salary cap rises, it may be tough to keep Thompson and all their premium salary players long term," Sprung stated.
If the Thompson-Warriors impasse gets out of their hands, many analysts predicted the Lakers as the team who could be aggressive in paying max money for Thompson. Why not? The Lakers will have tons of cash to use next year with the contracts of Jeremy Lin, Carlos Boozer, Steve Nash and a handful of one-year deal all expiring.
Moreover, Kobe Bryant needs a successor in place at the shooting guard spot, and Thompson would be a wonderful replacement to the Black Mamba.
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