Klay Wants to get Paid!

Fresh off his gold medal win at the FIBA World Cup, Klay Thompson’s agent Bill Duffy is making waves, suggesting that his client should be offered a max money deal to play in 2015 and beyond. 

On the surface, it sounds like a terrible idea.  Many basketball fans have suggested that max deals have hamstrung teams in the past when they are dished out to players who aren’t true “superstars”. 

This begs the question.  What is Klay Thompson?

We all know he’s an outside shooter.  One of the best in the league, Thompson finished last season 44.4% from the field (12^th among shooting guards) and 41.7% from 3 (good for 11^th place in the NBA).

His release is lighting quick with a very high arc, which makes his shot nearly unblockable when you realize he’s 6’7” to begin with. 

He hasn’t shown the ability to create his own shot since high school when he was a point guard. 

Thompson isn’t much of a slasher, and you’d typically expect a max-money player to be the type you can just hand the ball to when the game is on the line. 

Thompson has also picked up the reputation of being one of the streakiest offensive players in the NBA.  He will endure long shooting slumps, and then go through periods where it feels like he’ll never miss again.  

His defence has improved significantly since entering the league, though his numbers don’t really indicate that (0.9 STL, 0.5 blocks). 

Thompson is often asked to guard the opposing team’s most dangerous backcourt player – either a 1 or a 2, and he generally manages to at least contain them.  

While nobody would categorize Thompson as “fast”, he is quick, and has the ability to move his feet to detour offensive threats, and can often catch upfrom behind or change shots at the rim thanks to his length.

How much better can he be?  

While Klay is more athletic than he appears, he’s not as athletic as you’d expect a star shooting guard to be.  Than in itself lowers his ceiling. 

There is also the intangible, or a former teammates who has stated off-the-record that Thompson is a "stat chaser" who has some "growing up to do".  That's not a shocking statement about a 24 year old multi millionaire.  It could however, be a sign of future issues.

Questions have also been posed by those close to the Warriors about the fact that Klay often seems to lack emotion.  Teammates have stated that is simply not true, but that the tall 2 guard is simply not as demonstrative as some others. 

On the plus side of that, Klay comes across as emotionally predictable, and you don't anticipate him being the type to cause a public relations nightmare for your organization by doing something illegal or untoward. 

Is Klay Thompson a perfect star? No. Is he without risk?  No. He’s rife with flaws, but he is a top 3 shooting guard in the NBA.  Does that in and of itself, warrant a max deal?

Keep in mind, the Golden State Warriors are currently $17,090,572 over the salary cap.

They have signed David Lee, Andrew Bogut, Andre Iguodala and Stephen Curry using their Bird rights.  

 The Warriors also gambled by signing Curry when he was in the midst of ankle issues, allowing them to lock him up long term (signed through 2016-17) at about 11 million per season. 

Should Thompson be granted a max (he’s elgible to re-sign for 15.8 million per season) then his Splash Brother teammate would become the lowest paid starter on the squad.  

A move like that would also likely expedite the departures of Harrison Barnes, (expiring in 2015-16) and possibly others. 

Rumors of the salary cap going up by as much as 30% in two years sound like the saving grace the Warriors need, but they will need to gamble long before that in order to properly manage this asset.

There are enough positives here to indicate that if the Warriors don’t pull the trigger (and gamble the subsequent dominoes to fall don’t destroy their entire plan), another team will.