With the Los Angeles Lakers on the brink of a disappointing first-round exit, a major revamp could be in the offing this summer.
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One potential target to surround Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis with outside shooting is five-time NBA All-Star Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors.
The Lakers have the second-best odds if Thompson switches teams this offseason. Bookies.com put the Lakers at +450, an 18.2% implied probability, to land Thompson.
With the Lakers short of cap space, unless both James and D’Angelo Russell opt out, they could only land Thompson via sign-and-trade with the Warriors. That’s the reason why the Philadelphia 76ers, who have a significant cap space this summer, are ahead of the Lakers in Thompson’s next team odds as a +325 favorite (23.5% implied probability).
Despite the Warriors adamantly saying they want Thompson back next season, the 34-year-old veteran gunslinger hinted that he might have played his last game with them.
Klay Thompson Hints at Warriors Departure
Thompson was spotted soaking in everything as if it’s the last time he’d don the Warriors uniform when he stopped and looked around the remaining Warriors fans at Golden1 Center in Sacramento following their play-in loss on April 16.
Klay Thompson goes 0-of-10 shooting in Sacramento elimination game and exits to an unknown Warriors future. Here he is walking off the court. Largest GSW offseason question is whether he will wear this jersey again. pic.twitter.com/UEhaufsc0W
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 17, 2024
The four-time champion will become an unrestricted free agent this July after he and the Warriors could not agree to an extension last summer.
The uncertainty hung over Thompson in his most challenging season since he returned from his ACL and Achilless injuries. He averaged a nine-year low of 17.9 points on 43.2% shooting as he toggled between the starting lineup and the Warriors bench this season. But he shot a career-high 92.7% from the free throw line, which suggests he still has the touch.
The Warriors star is son of former Laker Mychal Thompson, who was a key figure in the “Showtime” era.
Defiant LeBron James Sends Message to Lakers Teammates
With their backs against the wall, LeBron James has no quit in him as he tries to rally the Lakers and avoid another sweep at the hands of the defending champion Denver Nuggets.
“It’s one game at a time, at this point,” James told reporters in his postgame press conference. “You lose, you go home. So we’re going come in with the mindset of, ‘Let’s get one.’ Force a Game 5 and then we go from there. So as long as you still have life, then you always have belief. I just think you play until the wheels fall off.”
No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in the NBA Playoffs.
James had 26 points and nine assists for the Lakers, who squandered another double-digit lead. They led by 12 in the first half but the Nuggets again roared back and played better when it counted.
D’Angelo Russell May Go After This Season
The ugly scene of Russell scrolling his phone while munching on a snack during a Lakers huddle in a Game 3 after he went scoreless could be the final straw barring any miracle comeback.
“D’Angelo Russell — what a disgrace and an embarrassment,” Stephen A. Smith said on “First Take” on April 26. “It’s hard to look at this brother. … It’s disgraceful.
LeBron James doesn’t deserve a teammate like that. Somebody like [Russell] that does not prioritize [his team], not focused, get rid of him.”
Russell has an $18.6 million player option for next season which the Lakers could use as a salary ballast in a star trade this summer. But the point guard could also hurt the Lakers by opting out and signing with another team as a free agent.
Alder Almo is a basketball journalist covering the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors for Heavy. He has more than 15 years of experience in local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Alder is from the Philippines and is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo