Sad news: Orlando key player Paolo Banchero undergo for surgery.
It’s almost impossible to imagine Klay Thompson in anything but a Warriors uniform.
It could happen this summer for a variety of reasons (primarily financial). But if not the Warriors, who will chase and pay Thompson? Enter the Orlando Magic, reports Marc Stein in his post-All-Star Newsletter.
Orlando has been increasingly mentioned as a potential suitor for Klay Thompson in free agency. The Magic’s available cap space is difficult to project this far out. That figure could rise as high as $45 million but depends on their future plans with free agents-to-be Markelle Fultz and Gary Harris as well as Jonathan Isaac (whose $17.4 million salary next season is non-guaranteed).
How big a contract and how many years do the Warriors want to give Thompson? He’s still a good player who can knock down the 3, but he’s not at an All-Star level anymore, and plenty of people around the league think his new sixth-man role is the right fit. Orlando may be interested, but how much do they want to pay an aging Thompson, and what role will they give him.
The complicating factor is the Warriors’ luxury tax situation. This
past week, team Governor Joe Lacob said, “Our Plan 1, or 1A, is that we’d like to be out of the tax, and we think that we have a way to do that.” Lacob said that included bringing back players — implying Thompson and Chris Paul — but at much lower salary numbers (Thompson is making $42 million this season).
The Warriors have eight guaranteed contracts on the books for next season at around $137 million (that includes Gary Payton II picking up his $9.1 million option), and the luxury tax line next season is projected to be $172 million. If the Warriors give Thompson $25 million a season — what they just gave Draymond Green last summer — it would leave about $10 million for the remaining five roster spots (they would have to be minimum contracts). If Thompson takes less, the Warriors have more to spend on players such as Chris Paul and others.
That Thompson and the Warriors have yet to reach a deal on an extension, but the smart bet is they will. It’s really difficult to picture Thompson in an Orlando uniform.
Warriors converting two-way guard Quiñones to standard NBA contract originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Warriors guard Lester Quiñones has played himself into a permanent role with Golden State for the 2023-24 NBA season.
After appearing in 19 games for the Warriors this season, the team plans to convert the 23-year-old’s two-way deal into a standard NBA contract, his agents Mike Miller and Derek Malloy of LIFT Sports Management told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Tuesday.
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Across those 19 contests, Quiñones is averaging 4.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 12.9 minutes per game. Two-way players lose their eligibility after 50 games played, so it’s clear Golden State has liked what Quiñones has produced for them on the court this season and wanted to reward him.
Quiñones fills the Warriors’ 14th guaranteed roster spot, making it very unlikely the team will shop the buyout market. While the Quiñones addition doesn’t completely close the buyout door, Golden State’s 15th roster spot probably will be kept free until the end of the regular season, should they need another body for an NBA playoff run.
Quiñones went unselected during the 2022 NBA Draft before signing with the Warriors that year. After re-signing with the team on a two-way contract to begin this season, he’ll continue to serve as a key piece off the bench for coach Steve Kerr as Golden State eyes the postseason.
