Thompson seeks contender role as Warriors lock in Curry extension

The NBA offseason has settled into its quieter phase, the kind of August stretch where most rosters are taking shape and teams are content to watch rather than act. But there is still movement happening at the margins, and it tells you something about where several franchises think they stand.

Klay Thompson, now 36 years old, has spent months watching the Dallas Mavericks explore trade options for him while the team publicly insists it won't simply let him walk. Thompson has been clear about what he wants next. In a recent Twitch conversation, he laid it out plainly: he wants to play for a championship contender, to have a real shot at another title, and to hold a meaningful role on that team. Whether that happens this season or next doesn't matter to him as much as the opportunity itself. The problem is that Dallas, while building around young prospect Cooper Flagg, isn't that team yet. And for contenders who might be interested, Thompson's $17.5 million salary in the final year of his contract is a harder sell than it once was. His production has declined with age, and most championship-caliber rosters don't have that kind of money to spend on a veteran wing in his current form. The market has been quiet on this front, though something could shift closer to training camp or at the trade deadline.

Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors have made their position unmistakable: Stephen Curry is not going anywhere. Warriors owner Joe Lacob said as much recently, and general manager Mike Dunleavy confirmed to reporters that the team expects to reach an extension agreement with Curry before long. Curry is in the final year of a deal that pays him $62.6 million. The only real negotiation point is timing—whether Curry and the Warriors might delay signing the extension to give the franchise more salary cap flexibility next offseason for roster upgrades. But the deal itself is coming.

In Cleveland, the Cavaliers have been identified as a team worth watching in the pursuit of Peyton Watson, a restricted free agent wing from Denver. To make that happen, they needed to clear cap space, which meant moving salary. Dennis Schroder is now headed to Charlotte, completing the first part of that equation. The Cavaliers are still exploring options to trade Max Strus as well, though deals are harder to execute this late in the offseason when most teams have their rosters set and prefer to see what they have before making another big move. Watson is looking for a contract in the neighborhood of $25 million annually—the kind of deal Christian Braun received from Denver last year. For Cleveland to afford both Watson and a re-signed James Harden, the trades are necessary. The Clippers and Bucks are also circling Watson, and Denver would like to keep him but would need to move either Christian Braun or Cam Johnson to clear the cap space themselves, given that the Nuggets are already over the second apron threshold.

Elsewhere in the league, Ben Simmons remains a name teams are willing to consider, though any outfit that brings him into training camp will face a daily media gauntlet about his status and intentions. The attention alone might not be worth it. And Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs' young star, appears to be spending his summer in unconventional ways—this year practicing with a rugby team, a far cry from last summer's reported time with Shaolin monks.