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After Stephen Curry and Draymond Green’s Contract Extension, Warriors Owner Gets Real About Klay Thompson’s Future: “We’ll See…”

Published 09/03/2023, 8:43 AM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob’s strategic thinking is on display as the team navigates a financially risky scape. The stats clearly show that a sizable amount of money is leaving the Warriors’ coffers, and more commitments are on the horizon. As they pursue another championship, the franchise’s golden era is at a turning point. And much depends how the Dub Nation will deal with Klay Thompson.

The team’s going the extra mile for its core players as the recent Green contract highlights. The Warriors signed a $100 million contract extension for Draymond Green, which extends into his mid-thirties. Stephen Curry‘s $167.3 million deal for the next three years, will terminate when he is 38. And with Klay Thompson’s contract expiring in July, the Warriors’ owner recently got real about his future with the team.

Will Warriors let Klay Thompson go?

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Owner of the Golden State Warriors recently spoke about the team’s goals and financial commitment as they move forward within their “golden generation”. Lacob underlined the significant financial investments the organization is making in order for the Warriors to continue to be successful in the following seasons.

Klay Thompson, whose current deal is slated to expire in July of next year, is central to these conversations. With Klay’s contract expiring in July, do the Warriors plan on keeping him?

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“I do,” the Warriors owner said on the TK Show. “We’ve had some very brief discussions at this point with his agent. But they’re very, very early. … I fully expect that we’ll have some substantial discussions soon sometime and we’ll see if we can’t put something together that allows Klay to be here for a long time, which we clearly would like him to be.”

He continued, “Look, it’s August and there’s plenty of time to work all this out. His contract doesn’t expire until next year. We love him and I know he knows we love him. And we’re going to try to do something here for the rest of his career.”

In order to compete for titles in the near future, Joe Lacob and the Golden State Warriors are deeply engaged in their present team. The Warriors are unmistakably in a “win-now” mentality, emphasizing short-term performance and title contention over long-term preparation as their Poole-Paul trade shows.

Joe Lacob talks about Chris Paul’s trade

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The Warriors have made it clear that they are committed to the next season. The choice to trade the promising 24-year-old Jordan Poole for the 38-year-old Chris Paul was one of the more noticeable choices. With the addition of luxury tax penalties, this move, combined with other significant contracts like Draymond Green’s, has increased the Warriors’ total salary commitments to an astounding $400 million.

via Imago

When asked about this financial risk, Lacob acknowledged that it wasn’t originally in the plan. He reiterated that the team’s main objective is to win. Lacob said, “Can’t tell you it was the plan, it wasn’t. But again, we want to win. And right now, look, our core players are getting older, we don’t know how long they’re going to be able to play at this level. Hopefully for a while. But I think we have to maximize that opportunity. … We had an opportunity to add Chris; it’s going to cost us a little more money in the short run. We just decided it was worth it. … It wasn’t planned to be that way.”

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The Dub Nations owner continued, “We like the idea of having Chris Paul on the team. And we’re excited about it. So let’s see what happens, how it works, and how successful we are, and we’ll take it from there.”

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Written by:

Ranjitha Ramesh

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Ranjitha Ramesh is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. With a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, Ranjitha has a strong foundation in reporting and writing. Her passion for basketball, particularly the Lakers and LeBron James, fuels her desire to delve into the lifestyle and off-court activities of NBA stars.
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Edited by:

Bilal Handoo