If you thought there was a chance that Klay Thompson was going to leave the Warriors in 2019, you’re either a simple-minded person or just flat out stupid. The ego-less Warriors have no plans to break up the core four that are title contenders for the next five years. Klay Thompson is seen as the odd man out in Golden State but has come out and said that he ‘absolutely’ wants to stick around in Golden State.
Mark Medina of the San Jose Mercury News reported the following:
“Absolutely (he wants to re-sign in Golden State),” Thompson told Bay Area News Group. “I’ve always said that. Playing for one team your whole career is definitely special. Only so many guys have done it in professional sports, so it’ll be a goal of mine. Hopefully it all works out…
“It’s so far away,” Thompson said of his pending free agency. “Anything I can do to stay with the Warriors is first and foremost. God willing, it happens. If not, I don’t even think about that.”
Thompson has already said that he would even consider taking less than a max deal with Golden State. Really the only reason Golden State would hesitate to sign Thompson long-term would be for luxury tax concerns. However, with the Warriors moving into a new arena in the near future, those concerns aren’t real concerns. The Warriors made a profit of $91 million in 2017. Thompson isn’t going anywhere.
Magic Johnson and the Lakers can dream of Thompson landing in LA during the 2019 offseason but that’s not going to happen. Johnson is putting all his eggs in the Paul George basket this upcoming offseason which seems more than attainable considering Russell Westbrook is refusing to put on a sales pitch for his incumbent teammate.
