Klay Thompson and the Warriors can finalize an extension at any time between now and June 30, 2024, so they didn’t need to come to an agreement before the regular season begins. Still, as Anthony Slater of The Athletic notes (via video), some players view opening night as an artificial deadline and prefer to table those talks until after the season if they don’t agree to terms by then.
Asked if he’s taking that route, Thompson didn’t confirm it one way or the other, but he also didn’t sound like a player who plans to be actively engaged in pursuing a new deal during the season.
“I’m focused on the daily dedication it takes to do this job,” Thompson said. “I’m not worried about an extension right now. That’ll all play itself out.”
Recent reports from ESPN and The Athletic have indicated that the Warriors and Thompson are pretty far apart on years and money, increasing the likelihood that the veteran sharpshooter could reach free agency next summer. It’s very possible the two sides will bridge that gap at some point between now and June 30, but Thompson acknowledged that he intends to savor this season “just in case” it’s his last in Golden State.
“Oh yeah, you never know what’s going to happen,” Thompson said. “I’m going to savor this as much as I can, especially in this uniform. I was here before it sweet, before it was four championships. Twenty-three wins (in 2011-12). I was here building the foundation, so yeah I’m going to savor it. Because everyone around the world thinks it’s sweet when they look at (the) Warriors, but it hasn’t always been like this. So I’m going to savor the heck out of it.”
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