Stephen Curry is now signed with the Golden State Warriors until the 2025-26 season, while Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins are also signed through the 2026-27 season.
But Klay Thompson, a sharpshooter, is only signed until the 2023–24 season. It’s possible that an extension won’t be finalized immediately.
League sources tell The Athletic’s Anthony Slater that neither team has made a formal offer or counteroffer. No specific wage figures have been discussed. Neither party is in a hurry, and there is no set time limit. It’s possible to accomplish it throughout the season, but I wouldn’t count on it. Serious talks (and maybe an agreement) need to take place first.
According to that story, the two parties have “started talking” and “exchanged proposals,” but there is “no hurry to these discussions,” as ESPN’s Romana Shelburne told Zach Lowe on his show back in September.
Thompson, at 33 years old, has cemented his place in Warriors lore by contributing significantly to the Splash Brothers era’s four titles. On average, he takes 7.4 three-point shots per game, making him the second-best shooter in NBA history behind only Stephen Curry. His career percentage of 41.6 percent from deep ranks 18th all-time.
His 2,213 career three-pointers are good for 11th all-time including his league-leading 301 from deep last season.
However, Thompson’s age and endurance should also be taken into account. Due to injuries, he sat out all of the following seasons: 2019–20 (ACL), 2020–21 (Achilles tendon), 2021–22 (32 games), and 2018–19 (69 games).
Considering that Buddy Hield, who ended second in the NBA with 288 made threes, played 11 more games than Thompson, it is almost unbelievable that Thompson still led the NBA in made threes while missing 13 games last season.
Although Thompson’s shooting hasn’t deteriorated, it’s reasonable to wonder whether his other skills may suffer as he ages. His influence on defense has already begun to decrease.
The Warriors have a lot of leeway to extend Thompson without hitting the second tax threshold since Chris Paul’s $30 million deal for the 2024-25 season is not guaranteed in any way.
Going into the second apron carries with it a number of repercussions, including the inability to sign buyout players during the season, the loss of the $5 million taxpayer midlevel exception, the inability to include cash in trades, and the loss of future first-round draft picks.
In other words, the punishments would be excessive. Because of this, Slater and The Athletic’s Danny Leroux estimated that the Dubs could pay Thompson anywhere from $42 million to $51.9 million, depending on how much the cap rises (and the assumption that the Warriors don’t want to hit that second tax apron and would fill the rest of their roster with players on minimum deals).
It’s unclear whether they’d want to pay him that much and give up their cap space for future roster upgrades. For the sake of finishing his career in the Bay Area and giving the Warriors some financial freedom to enhance the squad and pursue additional championships, Thompson may not seek the maximum money he might earn in an extension.