Step aside Bill Duffy, agent of Klay Thompson. Kobe Bryant is going to handle your client’s contract extension. He’s got this.
Shortly after the Golden State Warriors got done raising hell at the Los Angeles Lakers’ expense Thursday night, Kobe went into high-praise mode.
“He has the whole package,” Kobe said of Thompson, per the Bay Area News Group’s Diamond Leung.
And just like, Thompson received a max contract.
Fine. He didn’t. But imagine if the Warriors were planning to extend him a max offer all along and did so soon. It would forever be associated with Kobe’s words of wisdom and admiration. Now how awesome would that be?
(Answer: Really awesome.)
It’s also unlikely. If Thompson and his agent are refusing to move off their max-contract demands—which is probably the case with the NBA’s cap expected to explode two summers from now—the Warriors have no reason to sign him now. Thompson would be a restricted free agent this offseason, and they could match any offer he receives.
Worst-case scenario has them matching a max-contract sheet, thereby paying Thompson what they would have to pay him at this moment. Though there’s been talk of “smoothing out” the inevitable cap rises, it’s not expected to increase by much this year, so the Warriors aren’t at risk of paying a substantially fatter max contract than they would be now.
Kelley L Cox/USA TODAY Sports I
Why not wait, then? It gives the Warriors another season to see if Thompson is, in fact, worth that much coin. Right now he isn’t. Perhaps in the scheme of shooting guards he is, but his offensive game is limited and overly dependent on shots he doesn’t create for himself. If he’s able to put the ball on the floor more, reach the rim and even post up with additional success, then the Warriors have a superstar on their hands.
But the team should also want to see how he rebounds from this past summer. He was linked to Kevin Love trade rumors, and now he’s enduring contract-negotiation chatter. The Warriors should see how he carries himself under pressure before getting too giddy about his potential. Rumors and speculation are part and parcel of being an NBA player. You don’t want to pay someone a lot of money if he’s going to fold.
Not to say Thompson will, or that the Warriors think he will. If and when they wait, it will just be prudent business. No use investing even more money in a core until you know effective it can be. Thompson, in all likelihood, isn’t going anywhere. It’s just going to be a while before that becomes official.
Until then, he should find joy and solace and refuge and amusement and candy-coated everything in knowing that Kobe thinks his on-court package is whole, even though it isn’t just yet.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
