Klay Thompson was courted by the Los Angeles Lakers for a long time before he chose to join the Dallas Mavericks.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports that Thompson has agreed to a three-year, $50 million contract with the Mavericks. A significant portion of the conversation surrounding Thompson and the Lakers concerned the team signing him with the full $12.8 million mid-level exception.
But according to Lakers Daily insider Anthony Irwin, the team made Thompson an offer for a four-year contract worth $80 million. Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes later elaborated on that report.
According to Haynes, “I was told the Lakers made a pretty compelling offer.” “They were waiting for their guy for about three or four years, and it was about $20 million per [year].”
According to Haynes, obtaining Thompson at that price would have required a sign-and-trade. The Lakers’ offerings did not pique the interest of the Warriors.
Haynes stated, “I was informed that it would have probably involved D’Angelo Russell being a part of a deal to get Klay.” I was informed that the Warriors had no intention of bringing D’Angelo Russell back. Recall that D’Angelo worked for them for a year a few years back. That simply wasn’t possible for the Warriors, then.
Taxes and the hope of a championship drew Klay Thompson to the Lakers.
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Lakers suggested signing D’Angelo Russell to the Warriors in a sign-and-trade deal and gave Klay Thompson a “$20 million per [year]”.
The Warriors said no, according to @ChrisBHaynes.
4:52 PM · July 1, 2024, 5643 Answer
Additionally, it seems that Thompson believed the Mavericks were more prepared for a championship run because they had just advanced to the NBA Finals.
Thompson’s camp was reportedly in serious talks with the Lakers. Wojnarowski tweeted, “Thompson had four-year offers for more money, but taking less was offset by the chance to win a fifth championship with the Mavs and difference in state taxes.”
James has made it very evident that he is prepared to make a financial sacrifice in order to help the Lakers sign another star player. He ranked Thompson highly. As soon as free agency opened, the four-time MVP called Thompson and told him to begin recruiting.
On June 30, Wojnarowski stated, “They’ve had conversations tonight.” “I’ve been informed that LeBron James reached out to Klay Thompson as soon as free agency began at 6 p.m. Eastern time and had a conversation with him.”
Lakers Continue to Look for a Star-Level Player
Thus far, the Lakers’ attempt to find a star player has failed. James stated that he would accept less in exchange for players like Thompson, Jonas Valanciunas, or James Harden. Each of the three has secured their future in another place. However, LA is still hoping for some sort of outcome.
The Lakers are still figuring out who that player will be at this time. They are looking for a player with star potential,” Haynes stated. “That could happen through a sign-and-trade situation or LeBron James forgoing financial security and accepting the entire mid-level [exception].”
DeMar DeRozan, who is uncertain about his future with the Chicago Bulls, has been mentioned most recently.
On the Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst stated, “I think there’s more than three.” DeMar DeRozan, in my opinion, is also on that list. And there might be one or two more.
During the previous season, DeRozan averaged 24.0 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game.
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