DALLAS (AP) — Klay Thompson is leaving the Golden State Warriors, as the four-time NBA champion has agreed to join the Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks and change franchises for the first time in his 13-year NBA career, two people with knowledge of the decision said Monday.
ESPN and The Athletic were first to report the multi-team deal, which as currently structured will be executed as a three-year, $50 million sign-and-trade involving the Warriors, Mavericks and Charlotte Hornets, said the people, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been announced. One of the people who spoke to the AP said final terms of the trade were still being worked out.
Thompson is sixth on the NBA’s all-time 3-pointers made list with 2,481, behind Reggie Miller (2,560), Damian Lillard (2,607), James Harden (2,940), Ray Allen (2,973) and Thompson’s now-former “Splash Brother” with the Warriors, Stephen Curry, and his 3,747 career makes from beyond the arc.
There were signs last season that Thompson and the Warriors might be headed toward a split.
Thompson came off the bench 14 times, not a lot considering he played 77 games, but those were his first appearances as a reserve since his rookie season of 2011-12. He shot 38.7% from 3-point range, the second-worst of his career. He averaged 17.9 points, the third-lowest of his career. He wasn’t always in the final lineup and the season, and his career with the Warriors, ended with a Shooting performance 0 out of 10 against Sacramento in a play-in tournament loss.
Thompson, a five-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA selection who missed two full seasons with injuries, took a look at the court after that game, taking in the scene just in case it was his last time playing for the Warriors. Turns out, it was. And now he’ll join a Dallas team fresh off a run to the NBA Finals as a hired shooter to help Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
The Hornets were set to acquire guard Josh Green as part of the deal, giving up two second-round draft picks. The 15th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Green has spent all four of his NBA seasons with the Mavericks and averaged 8.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists last season.
The La Liga moratorium on transfers is lifted on Saturday.
Maxey, Harris and Hartenstein buy land
All of them were undervalued at some level when they entered the NBA. None were lottery picks, some weren’t even drafted in the first round, and they didn’t have the label of can’t-miss prospects.
That was then. Monday was a very different story for Tyrese Maxey, Derrick White, Isaiah Hartenstein, Tobias Harris, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins, who are on the verge of signing deals worth a combined $565 million.
All were confirmed to AP by people familiar with the negotiations involving the players involved.
Maxey, an All-Star last season, agreed in principle to a five-year, $204 million extension that keeps him with the Philadelphia 76ers and ready to play alongside Joel Embiid and Paul George, who will soon be signed.
The 76ers, like the rest of the league, are pursuing the Boston Celtics, who made a big move by agreeing to a four-year contract extension with point guard Derrick White worth around $125 million. White averaged 15.2 points and 5.2 assists for the NBA champions last season.
Hartenstein, a center coming off a breakout season, is leaving New York for Oklahoma City on a three-year, $87 million contract that includes an option. The Thunder, the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference last season, also finalized extensions with Joe ($48 million) and Wiggins ($47 million).
And Harris is headed to Detroit on a two-year contract worth $52 million, a move first reported by ESPN that will give the young Pistons a seasoned veteran in the room as they continue their rebuild under newly hired coach JB Bickerstaff.
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Reynolds reported from Miami. AP Sports Writers Dan Gelston in Philadelphia and Steve Reed in Charlotte, North Carolina, contributed to this report.
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NBA AP: https://apnews.com/hub/nba