On the eve of free agency, it was reported that there is mutual interest between the Los Angeles Lakers and Klay Thompson, who is now expected to leave the Golden State Warriors.
The Lakers don’t have cap space but LeBron James has said he is willing to take less money on his new contract to open up the full mid-level exception if it means they can add an impact player.
James gave a list of players he would be willing to take a pay cut for, and Thompson unsurprisingly was one of those players. While he isn’t the player he once was, Thompson is still one of the best shooters in the league and would fit well with James, Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves, especially at the mid-level price.
Thompson finishing his career in L.A. where he grew up with his dad Mychal calling his games would be cool, but it appears the Lakers have some competition. According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Dallas Mavericks are also interested and may be viewed as the favorite:
What really changed Saturday is that the Warriors ultimately struck out on George and now the Lakers, by virtue of LeBron James’ reported willingness to take a paycut if one of the “right targets” (as described by my podcast partner Chris Haynes of Turner Sports) consents to take L.A.’s $13 million midlevel exception, have joined Dallas in the race to secure Thompson’s commitment in free agency.
Barring an 11th-hour resuscitation of Thompson’s relationship with the Warriors that no one close to the process was willing to predict Saturday night, those are projected to be the two teams at the forefront of Thompson’s thinking … with even some in Lakerland said to regard Dallas as the team to beat.
Despite the obvious pull that the Lakers have with the sharpshooter from Southern California, whose father Mychal played for the Lakers and still calls games for them on radio, league sources continued to stress to The Stein Line that — as first reported here Friday — there will be strong mutual interest between Thompson and the Mavericks.
If the money is the same, it’s hard to imagine Thompson picking Dallas over L.A. given all his ties to the Lakers organization.
The Mavericks are coming off an appearance in the NBA Finals though, so maybe he views playing with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving as a better opportunity to compete for a championship than James and Davis.
D’Angelo Russell & Austin Reaves backcourt reached its ceiling with Lakers?
One of the reasons the Lakers are pursuing Klay Thompson is because reports indicate they feel the starting backcourt of D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves has reached its ceiling.
With that being the case, it is possible that Russell is traded to address other roster needs.
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