Why Arenas doesn’t want Dubs to ‘automatically’ extend Klay originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
As Klay Thompson enters the final year of his current contract with the Warriors, there has been much talk and speculation about what a potential extension for the star might look like.
Former Golden State guard Gilbert Arenas recently lent his voice to the scrum, explaining why the Warriors shouldn’t blindly expand Thompson without testing his market first.
“I’m not going to give him an extension,” Arenas said on his “No Chill” podcast. “I’m going to let him play all year…I want to see what his value is on the open market….
“It’s a holeshot move, but sometimes you just have to be the asshole. Whatever it gets on the open market, I’d try to match, but I’d like to see what the value is versus just giving automatically him an extension.
Thompson is a Warriors legend and future Hall of Famer. He returned triumphantly in January 2022 from consecutive leg injuries that robbed him of 941 basketball days. He’s a four-time NBA champion with Golden State, but his recent playoff performance could impact his value going forward, especially given the league’s new CBA, which significantly affects team spending.
Athletic’s Shams Charania and Anthony Slater reported in mid-May that if Thompson agrees to a contract extension with the Warriors this summer, the “expectation” is that he would have to take a pay cut. The 33-year-old owes $43.2 million on his five-year, $190 million contract in 2023-24.
Early in the Warriors’ latest playoff series, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Thompson expected him to get another max-level extension this offseason. But after a 34.3 shooting percentage in the Western Conference semifinals, it’s unclear which price Thompson would command.
Some, like ESPN analyst and former NBA player Kendrick Perkins, think Thompson shouldn’t take a pay cut from the Warriors and can instead go for a sack with another team next year. But Arenas’ approach would be to see what other teams think Thompson is worth before naming a price.
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Is it unfair, however, to say that Golden State already knows the value of the Splash Bro? Thompson has been counted out before and has rebounded tremendously in the past, with four championship rings to show for his efforts.
But the Warriors have a lot to consider going forward when it comes to how they build and pay out their roster — and Thompson’s contract is a huge piece of the puzzle.
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