Paul George section:
Warriors' interest in Paul George is Legitimate
League sources say the Warriors, who have a sensitive free agency situation of their own with Klay Thompson, have legitimate interest in making George part of their new core alongside Steph Curry and Draymond Green. This sort of move would be from the same Joe Lacob playbook we saw on display in mid-February, when the Warriors owner led a failed effort to land LeBron James heading into the trade deadline.
But would the Warriors be willing to go all-in for a player who would be in his late 30s at the end of his deal, and what else might they have to give up to make a move like that happen? For them and teams like them, it depends on how the situation might unfold.
Informative for the Warriors: Denver Nuggets' Interest & Package for PG:
League sources say the Denver Nuggets, for example, had serious interest recently in the prospect of adding George by way of a possible extend-and-trade with the Clippers (if he chose to go that route). Yet in addition to giving George the max deal he so desires, they also would have had to give up Michael Porter Jr., Zeke Nnaji and a significant amount of draft capital. The Nuggets value their draft picks perhaps as much as any other contender in the league, and so their interest ended there. But that situation is informative for a team such as the Warriors, who would surely prefer to add George while not giving up any other assets (other than matching money).
Chris Paul and the Warriors have discussed pushing the guarantee deadline back:
All $30 million of Paul’s contract with the Warriors next season is non-guaranteed. It becomes guaranteed on Friday, 24 hours before the George deadline…Releasing Paul before Friday’s deadline would shed that $30 million from the books. But that Paul contract could be necessary for the Warriors to match salary in a George trade (or any other theoretical swing they’re able to make on the market). The timing of that choice has generated an extra layer of urgency as the weekend nears, though league sources indicate that Paul and the Warriors have discussed pushing back the guarantee deadline. That would give the Warriors more time to search for trade options and Paul a greater chance to pocket the $30 million instead of whatever he’d get as a free agent.
Klay Thompson section:
Still Little Contact between Klay & Warriors:
There remains no official contract offer and little contact between Thompson and the Warriors, league sources said, as the potential end of his 13-year run with the franchise becomes more plausible.
But, as The Athletic reported earlier in the week, it has become increasingly conceivable, according to league sources, that Thompson will decide to leave regardless, searching for a fresh start in a different environment, detached from some of the built-up friction of the previous couple seasons and the Warriors’ cold-natured approach to his contract discussions and future.
Philly & Denver (+ other rival teams) have interest in Klay:
A league source said Philadelphia has interest in Thompson. 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. Caldwell-Pope, as it were, is believed to be a strong possibility for Orlando. There are a handful of other rival teams also in play for Thompson, depending on his price tag.
by NokCha_
26 Comments
Man I’ll shed tears if klay really leaving.
if i see a single comment here preffering klay over pg13 i will lose it
Yeah, Klay is gone. His performance didn’t help, but he must just have issues with some of you younger guys taking his role or something. PG would be a heck of a replacement though.
Klay next to Jokic would certainly be interesting
Man in a perfect world we keep both
The Nuggets can’t pay Klay anything
Him in Denver would be such a good fit. Klay > PG13 all day.
so another day, more rumors. No one knows anything
Interesting that the article suggests a PG13 trade would cost the Nuggets MPJ and significant draft capital. I guess MPJ’s contract is not great, and he does carry injury risk, but that makes me a bit skeptical about the warriors’ ability to compete with an offer.
Then again, this article reeks of a Clippers’ leak to talk about all the competition for a PG13 trade… so maybe its overstating the offers?
I’m going to be really upset if Klay leaves, but it’s looking increasingly likely. It’s crazy, I debated traveling across the country just to watch a dubs game and see the core play. I decided to save money instead and i’m starting to regret it.
Omg I am rooting for klay to get to Denver or Philly.
Paul George. Welp at least I don’t hate him. We gonna be old as fuck until 2030.
KCP has a permanent home in the south. Orlando makes ALOT of sense for him and his family.
Klay turned down 2-years 48M when that was on the table. New reality. Dubs clearly want him to test the market and find his value. Credit to MDJ.
Conversely Klay doesn’t owe the Dubs anything and can sign for whatever and wherever he wants.
NOOOOOO PG PLEASE NOOOOOOOOO
He’s a fucking loser and he’s choked away game after game in the playoffs.
Klay to Denver would be crazy. Especially being able to play w that size around him.
Philly signing Klay in 24-25 is like signing the Michael Jordan of Tobias Harris’
Klay went for 0 on his last game in GS and will be missed. He doesn’t owe GS anything, he’s a legend here, and from a fan’s perspective this is gonna be devastating. Klay Day in 2022 was one of the best days as a fan – top 5 or so moments with this group.
I’m surprised he’s willing to make such a life change for a couple millions extra when he has everything he wants and more here in Tiburon.
I’m not a pro athlete tho so I suppose it’s more than the money, just kinda stings to see where his hearts truly at.
Get him here
I would be so sad if Klay ends up winning a championship with the Nuggets.
Damn Klay on the Nugs would tear me up inside
It doesn’t make sense at all for the Warriors to make a trade for PG. The only way it makes sense is if Klay is leaving no matter what deal is on the table and the Warriors try to be a part of a larger trade.
I don’t understand the Paul George chase, and I hope and pray he doesn’t end up a warrior. If the goal is to win a title in Steph’s remaining two years, adding George doesn’t move the needle. The reason Steph, Klay and Draymond worked so well for so long is because Klay doesn’t need the ball to be effective, Paul George needs the ball, he would tremendously under-utilized as a spot up catch and shoot player.
Giving Paul touches takes the ball out of Steph and Draymond’s hands, and you don’t really need a third ball-handler. Paul George is also 34 years old, and isn’t the defender he once was. PG is a better player than Klay, but Klay is the vastly superior fit; that fit has won 4 titles together and made the finals 6 times.
If the warriors give PG the 4 year max, you’re looking at a contract starting north of $50 million per year, which means you’ve committed $130+ million to PG, Steph and Draymond, three players in their mid to late 30s. You aren’t winning in the extremely deep western conference with that as your top three players. The Timberwolves have pre-prime Ant and prime KAT and an elite defense, Denver has prime Jokic, the Mavs have prime Luka. The warriors will get worse as time goes along following the PG acquisition, not better. Those other teams will stay the same or improve. There’s no way to win a best of 7 playoff series against those odds.
The warriors need to get younger. If I’m going all in for a guy, I’m going all in for someone who’s in the age 25 – 29 range, not someone who’s 34.
This move goes against every single roster building best practice that you would adhere to if you want to compete for a title. The warriors make this move, it will blow up in their faces. This would be making a splash for the sake of making a splash, with no competitive benefits incurred.
I don’t get it, and I hope this doesn’t happen.
> when the Warriors owner led a failed effort to land Lebron James into the trade deadline
Why are they reporting this like he was actually trying to get Lebron?? Even Dray said that wasn’t what happened lol
> Denver has pegged Thompson as a possible replacement.
They don’t have cap space…
“League sources” will always leak rumors even if they have no idea what is really going on, to generate clicks.
Klay in Denver would be great ending to his career, if he can’t stay a warrior, I’d love to see him thrive in that system, Jokic would get 5 assists per game to Klay alone
Does Slayer know that the Nuggets can only offer Klay $5m a year? I’m really beginning to doubt some of the stuff Slater’s been saying lately.
Ouch!! Warriors really doing Klay dirty here.
Not even engaging in contract talks. Damn!
I feel bad for Klay