The Golden State Warriors have become the talk of the NBA following their miserable end to the campaign. Particularly, the prolonged underperformance of their stars, specifically Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins, has become a major cause for concern. Amidst the misery, Boston Celtics legend Kevin Garnett painted a deeply grim picture of the Dubs in the latest episode of KG Certified along with his co-panelist, Paul Pierce.
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Initially, Pierce openly mentioned that the franchise should look to retain its big three, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Thompson. However, the 46-year-old soon turned negative, saying that the roster remained in dire need of a rebuild to succeed in the long run. So, nurturing youngsters such as Jontham Kuminga and Moses Moody should become a priority for them beyond this season.
Garnett promptly disagreed with Pierce’s perspective. Demanding a scale of changes within the roster, KG hinted at how the Warriors should stay prepared to let Thompson go. “When I look at the Golden State Warriors, it looks like this group is just tired of each other…At some point, you gotta get off these and you gotta move on to other things,” he declared.
This season marked the end of Thompson’s 5-year-long contract with the Warriors. After earning $43 million this season, as per Sportac, the 4x champion has entered the restricted free agency.
The Warriors have showcased their desire to retain the shooting guard on multiple different occasions in the past. Last summer, they even offered him a 2-year $48 million contract to extend his stay with the franchise. However, Thompson soon deemed the offer unworthy of his services and eventually opted to enter free agency.
A lot has changed since then. After all, the season has significantly diminished his chances of landing a better contract offer from the Dubs. So, at this stage, the likelihood of his Warriors stint coming to an end remains high. Almost as if hinting at what is to come, he reminisced about the Warriors’ championship days in a disturbingly nostalgic tone, saying the following.
“Every year I give my best effort. And the ownership group has been great. I have nothing but positive things to say about them. I don’t really know how to answer that. I mean, it’s up to them, but at the end of the day whatever happens, it’s all gravy. It’s been such a freaking special run,” Thompson told ESPN.
The interested teams could start to table their offers to him soon. If the conditions sound favorable, the Warriors may attempt to match their proposals to retain Thompson. However, this will potentially lead to limited game time and a diminished role for the player in San Francisco. All in all, his superstardom in the Bay Area has certainly come to an end, forcing him to cope with the changes.
