Warriors expected to re-sign Klay Thompson

A season-long mystery surrounding Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson could end soon.

Per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Warriors are expected to re-sign Thompson over the summer, when he is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent.

There’s been some talk that the Warriors may look to trade him ahead of the Feb. 8 deadline. While Thompson isn’t the threat he once was, he’s still an effective starter on most nights. And every once in a while, he’ll offer a throwback performance.

“Golden State and Klay Thompson spoke at the beginning of the year, and a deal didn’t get done, so both sides felt it was best to push it off until the end of the season,” Scotto said. “He’s been through the free agency process before, and he stayed. The Warriors want him back, and Thompson seems like he wants to be back.”

As is often the case in these situations, it will all come down to money. The Warriors may only want to pay Thompson what they believe is his current worth to winning. Thompson, 33, may want to be paid for time served.

Today, he’s averaging 17.6 points, his lowest since his second NBA season in 2012-13. His 3-point shooting percentage of 40 percent is also his lowest since that year.

Along with that, Thompson isn’t the wing defender he once was, understandable considering he underwent Achilles and ACL surgery over the past couple years. It cost him the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 seasons.

Golden State (19-24) is in 12th place in the Western Conference despite already playing more than half of its home games.