Inside the Warriors’ failed bid for Paul George, Klay Thompson’s inevitable departure

You don’t have to wait for documentaries and years of context to understand this: Saturday night’s events will go down as the defining moment of a season at the threshold of a rather important part of Golden State Warriors history.

Initial analysis: Not good yet! (But check back in a week or so for the final verdict.)

Klay Thompson is set for free agency and — barring a dramatic shift in mood — the Warriors and Thompson are more than ready for his somewhat imminent departure from the Bay Area. Ready as it is, an NBA source indicated this weekend, a few friendly goodbyes were shared between Klay and high-ranking members of the Warriors organization.

Paul George, the Warriors’ top acquisition target this offseason, opted out of the final year of his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers and became an unrestricted free agent, essentially cutting off any realistic path for the Warriors because they don’t have the cap room to sign him as a free agent.

This came after very serious negotiations between the Warriors, George and the Clippers leading up to Saturday afternoon’s deadline for George’s contract decision and after the Warriors believed — multiple times — that they were close to signing the 34-year-old small forward, according to team sources.

The Warriors agreed to give George a maximum four-year extension upon arrival. They believed they had proposed several different forms of trade that the Clippers could and would accept. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green were 100 percent on board. George gave strong indications that he wanted to join the Warriors. But the Clippers never agreed to any version of the deal, and now George is a free agent and out of the Warriors’ reach.

That’s a lot to mention, all before free agency begins on Sunday. The current tally suggests that the Warriors are on the verge of losing one of their three dynasty players and one of the most popular athletes in Bay Area history, and they don’t get the great two-way winger they were seeking. We’ve even got Andrew Wiggins among others stuck in trade talks, and they should… Now they have to decide whether to guarantee Chris Paul’s $30 million contract for next season and see if they can move him in a trade.

No net gain. One foundational loss. Much more to do. And all that’s at stake is the final stretch of Prime Carey.

The Warriors don’t have enough salary cap space to sign Paul George, shown here with Luka Doncic, as a free agent. (Jerome Miron/USA Today)

Let’s take a point-by-point look at what’s happened over the past few days and how that determines what the Warriors will try to do next:

• Any potential round-robin trade between the Warriors and Clippers was sure to be complicated, but Warriors executives thought they had solved the puzzle. And from what I’ve heard, a combination (but certainly not everything) of Wiggins, CB3, Jonathan Kuminga, or Moses Mudiay as well as a future first-round pick have been floated in discussions with the Clippers.

There were versions of the deal that would have limited the Clippers’ long-term financial obligations; there were versions that would have increased future benefits. I was told the Warriors probably wouldn’t have made an offer for Wiggins and Kuminga, but it didn’t come to that anyway. If that’s what would have gotten the deal done… who knows.

My understanding is that financial concerns have weighed heavily on the Clippers’ side. If PG13 leaves as a free agent, they get nothing in return… but they also get a second-round pick and more roster maneuverability.

• Had the Warriors traded Kuminga for George, it would have been a risk in itself. The Warriors would have traded their most valuable young player for an older player with injury issues who would have been worth more than $260 million over the next five years, essentially tying the Warriors to a luxury tax.

But PG13 could have been an instant, elite scoring option at first base next to Curry, far better than anyone the Warriors have had in that role in years, and he could have pulled most of the tougher perimeter defensive assignments. Who would replace that shoe for the Warriors now? Maybe Kuminga gets some of that. Maybe Moody. Maybe Brandin Podziemski, too. It’s all a work in progress. The Boston Celtics proved once again that playoff series are won by strong two-way wings, and the Warriors still desperately need that class. That’s why they tried so hard to get George.

• There will be time for many more full reflections on Thompson’s incredible legacy with the Warriors later, and he deserves every one of them. Game 6 in Oklahoma City alone was probably worth about 100 of them. Back to shooting free throws – and back to defending! – After injuring his anterior cruciate ligament in the 2019 finals, you should have a thousand more memories.

I’ll just point out, in retrospect, that a lot of his actions and emotions in the final few months of last season may have been signs that he was getting ready to move on, from his frequent press conference moments to his struggles to adjust to his game. His importance on the field was diminished that last night after the last regular-season game at Chase Center, when he wandered into the locker room and asked teammates to ride in his boat with him.

CP3 and Moody took it seriously.partly because it was obviously an honor to be on that boat with Thompson, but also, I thought, because they knew it was important to him that night that they did it.

• Thompson didn’t like his experience last season, and he said so multiple times. He didn’t like being benched for so many games behind Podziemski. He didn’t like the questions we asked him about his future. He didn’t like the national attention he received for his occasional struggles, including, of course, his 0-of-10 shooting night in the Finals loss to the Sacramento Kings. truly I didn’t like that the Warriors put a higher priority on figuring out how to upgrade the roster than bringing him back this season.

By and large, I think Thompson didn’t like being compared to himself in another era, before his big legs, when he could guard anyone and turn any game into a personal piece of NBA shooting history. He wanted a fresh start. He’ll get one. He’s also coming to Chase Center with his new team and wants to beat the Warriors; Maybe not bitterly, maybe a little bitterly, but it will be fun to watch.

• Thompson probably wouldn’t have been a starter if he stayed with the Warriors this season. He was going to be Podziemski. Or Moody. Or whoever. I’m not sure Thompson would want to go through that again, and I don’t think the Warriors would have liked him either. It may seem like a cold end to this incredible period, but it was inevitable.

The Warriors wouldn’t be better without Thompson. They will miss his shooting, his personality, his sarcastic sense of humor and everything. He will have a statue outside the square. He will always be warmly received wherever there are Warriors fans. Yes, the Warriors will miss him. But they’ll get something in a sign-and-trade deal, with Thompson’s permission, when he leaves, and they probably won’t be much worse off for it. They will be younger and perhaps more athletic.

We’ll see what they can add in the next week or so.

• The Warriors could use the CP3 contract as a version of a trade exception – they could negotiate with Paul to put the escrow in any amount acceptable to both sides and use that to balance the trade, if there’s a good deal there.

If the Warriors can’t find a trade, they could release CP3, taking less than the salary cap (depending on what kind of money they would get back in a potential deal to sign Thompson). They can see what they can get for Wiggins. Right now, they would have a mid-level non-taxpayer exception of $5.2 million and could reach the non-taxpayer mid-level exception of $12.9 million if they moved Wiggins and got much less money in return.

• I’ll use another quote from Thompson from his end-of-season press conference to conclude this piece. Thompson was asked to give his reaction to Curry, Draymond and Steve Kerr’s statements in which they all expressed how much they wanted him back. Again, Thompson said those words in April, but they seem especially appropriate now.

“It means a lot. I mean we’ve been through the highs and the lows. Whether it’s losing a championship, winning a championship or failing to make the playoffs, we’ve been through it all together, so it means a lot. It makes me feel grateful for the times I had with them,” Thompson said. “They were truly historic moments.”

Yes, that was it. Past tense now.

(Top photo of Klay Thompson: Rocky Widener/NBAE via Getty Images)