In addition to the composition of the starting five, the Golden State Warriors approach training camp with the open question of the contract extension of Klay Thompson, who enters his last year of agreement without the certainty of remaining. At the moment, however, discussions between the parties are at a standstill, even if there is more than one reason for the impasse
I Golden State Warriors they approach training camp with the still open question of the starting quintet (“I have six starters” said Steve Kerr, deflecting questions about Chris Paul’s role), but there is another topic that will dominate the conversations: those on futuro on Klay Thompson. If Draymond Green renewed his agreement with the Warriors for 100 million dollars over the next four years, in fact, the same cannot be said of Thompson, who in the 2023-24 season he will earn $43.1 million with the possibility of appearing on the free agent market next summer. This will happen if he does not first reach an agreement with the Golden State management to extend his agreement, which he can also do during the current season — although usually certain issues tend to be resolved, with an agreement or no agreement, before let the games that count begin. At the moment, as written by Anthony Slater of The Athletic, negotiations are at a standstill between the parties: There were some informal discussions but neither an offer nor a counter-offer was reached from either party, and not even an exact number has been brought into question. Both the team and the player are in no particular hurry to reach an agreement and they did not give themselves a deadline for the agreementeven if his free agency can become a distraction later in the year — especially for a team always under the magnifying glass like the Warriors.
Biggest obstacle: What does the “second apron” have to do with Klay Thompson
The biggest obstacle for a contract extension agreement at the moment is the changes brought about by the new collective agreement, which severely punish teams with an out-of-scale salary cap like the Warriors currently have (well over $200 million). The essential goal for next summer is stay below the “second apron” threshold, otherwise the Warriors would not have access to the mini-mid level to operate on the free agent market, would not be able to add players from buyouts during the current season and would see their Draft picks frozen. At the moment, however, it is not clear where the threshold of that “second apron” will be: NBA projections speak of a 4.2% growth in the cap, which would place the threshold at 190.5 million dollars, but most likely they are downward estimates, with a range of 5% to 10% increase in the cap. Each percentage point “weighs” 1.4 million and gives further room for maneuver to the Warriors, who currently have 142.1 million dollars committed to nine players for next season: the range therefore varies from 42 to 52 million dollars that can be offered to Thompsoneven if such a scenario it would be mathematically equivalent to saying goodbye to Chris Paul (also expiring in 2024).
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Warriors objective: Thompson in line with Green and Wiggins
Golden State’s goal is therefore to try to find a satisfactory agreement with Thompson first and foremost remaining below the “second apron” (otherwise building the team would become impossible) e aligning it as much as possible with what was agreed in recent years with Andrew Wiggins (109 million in 4 years) and the aforementioned Green (100 in 4), plus maybe a carve out space to hold CP3 if the experiment goes well. It is possible that Thompson, coming off a season in which he hit over 300 threes (first in the NBA) with a 42.1% conversion rate, has more market than the other two, trying to get as close as possible to 30 million per year, a figure that he would most likely have no problems obtaining on the market considering how much someone like Fred VanVleet got in Houston. Thompson himself, on the threshold of 34 years of age which he will turn on February 8th and with several very serious injuries behind him, he would have every interest in remaining in the only team of his career, signing a long deal that would most likely lead to him retiring with the Warriors — even leaving a few dollars behind compared to other possibilities. The negotiations will continue, in short, they will continue — but without too much haste to find an agreement.
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Golden State Warriors 2023-24: Is it the last dance?
The clock at Golden State is moving quickly and the chances of winning a 5th title on the shoulders of the nucleus formed by Curry, Thompson and Green are becoming increasingly slimmer. Paul’s arrival gave coach Kerr another veteran, the only significant change in a roster that is otherwise almost identical to that of last season. The Warriors as we know them, however, could really be in their last dance THE NEW ROSTER OF THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS, BOSTON CELTICS AND DENVER NUGGETS
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2023-09-26 09:48:57
#NBA #market #Klay #Thompson #extension #moment #standstill #parties
