Getty Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson as teammates on the Golden State Warriors during the 2018 NBA Finals.
It’s the end of an era for the Golden State Warriors, who have parted ways with Klay Thompson after four championships. Kevin Durant sent his former teammate a message amidst the reports of his exit.
It came in the form of a comment on Thompson’s Instagram post where he said goodbye to the city, fans, and organization.
“A Bay Area God. One chapter closes, another one opens. Keep doing u champ,” Durant wrote on July 5.
Thompson departs the Warriors for the Dallas Mavericks, after agreeing to a sign-and-trade for three-years and $50 million.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was first with reports of the deal.
BREAKING: Free agent Klay Thompson plans to join the Dallas Mavericks on a three-year, $50M deal with a player option, sources tell ESPN. Thompson ends his historic Warriors run as part of a multi-team sign-and-trade that’ll also send Josh Green to Charlotte.
The 34-year-old played 77 games for Golden State last season, averaging 17.9 points per game on 38% shooting from behind the arc.
Warriors Have Acquired 3 Veterans in Thompson’s Stead
In wake of losing Thompson, the Warriors pivoted into three deals for veteran talent.
The first of which was signing year guard De’Anthony Melton to a one-year, $12.8 million deal.
Shams Charania of The Athletic was first with reports of the contract.
Free agent De’Anthony Melton plans to sign a one-year, $12.8 million deal with the Golden State Warriors, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
Melton is coming off of his second season with the Philadelphia 76ers. He appeared in just 38 games last season, averaging 11.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.6 steals.
Next, Golden State worked with the Minnesota Timberwolves to acquire veteran forward Kyle Anderson.
Wojnarowski was first with reports for ESPN.
Free agent F Kyle Anderson is planning to sign a three-year, $27 million deal with the Golden State Warriors, sources tell ESPN. He’ll land with Warriors on a sign-and-trade with Minnesota.
He too is coming off of his second stint with his latest team. Anderson averaged 6.4 points, 4.2 assists, and 3.2 rebounds in 79 games for the Western Conference finalists.
And thirdly they acquired Buddy Hield from the 76ers, on a sign-and-trade to help replace Thompson’s premier three-point shooting.
Charania was first with those reports for The Athletic.
https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/1808927751694659961
Hield is coming off of a season spent with the Indiana Pacers and 76ers. He averaged 12.1 points on 38% three-point shooting.
By playing for two teams, Hield had the unusual distinction of logging appearances (84) that exceeded the number of games in an NBA regular season (82). He played 52 games for the Pacers and 32 for the Sixers.
Golden State Pursuing Lauri Markkanen
The Warriors aren’t done. Or at least, they don’t hope to be done.
Golden State is pursuing Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen via trade, according to numerous reports.
According to Tony Jones of The Athletic, they have a “substantial offer” in place for the seventh-year forward.
“Golden State has an offer on the table and it’s substantial [for Lauri Markkanen]. I think offers are heavily pick-based… What complicates it is the Warriors only have two unprotected picks, plus a protected first-rounder,” Jones said on a July 5 appearance on 95.7 The Game.
Markkanen, a 2023 All-Star, is coming off of his second season with the Jazz. He averaged 23.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 55 regular-season appearances last year.
But the Warriors aren’t alone in their interest for Markkanen.
Longtime insider Marc Stein led off his July 5 newsletter with a report that Utah has spoken with at least five teams with interest.
“Three main takeaways I’ve heard in reporting on Utah’s ongoing willingness to field calls from teams interested in highly coveted forward Lauri Markkanen,” Stein wrote. “After an aggressive recent pursuit by Golden State to acquire him and discussions with other teams such as Sacramento, San Antonio, Miami and New Orleans…”
It may take Golden State’s best offer to pull off a major win in the Markkanen sweepstakes.
But after losing Thompson to free agency, and two years removed from their last championship, they have little choice with Steph Curry in his prime.