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Warriors: Klay Thompson Open to Pay Cut in Contract Extension

By Andrew Ites

OAKLAND, CA - MAY 8: Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors passes the ball against the New Orleans Pelicans in Game Five of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on May 8, 2018 at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - MAY 8: Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors passes the ball against the New Orleans Pelicans in Game Five of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on May 8, 2018 at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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One of the Warriors’ top priorities this summer will be signing Klay Thompson to a contract extension. He could make it easy on them by taking a pay cut.

The Warriors will be forced to pay a high price to keep this group of four Hall of Famers together, and this summer will contain some critical decisions to make sure that happens.

Kevin Durant will reportedly opt out of his current contract and become a free agent this offseason, and he’s likely to receive some sort of max contract after taking a pay cut to join this team a couple of summers ago.

Klay Thompson’s contract is set to expire in the summer of 2019, and the Warriors would like to get a contract extension done with him before he ever hits the open market.

According to a report from The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson, Klay and Golden State’s front office have already engaged in extension negotiations.

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If Klay lets his current deal expire in 2019, Thompson could make $188 million over five years on his next contract with the NBA’s new “super max” rules that are supposed to make it easier for teams to re-sign their players. But that would cause the Warriors’ luxury tax bill to be extremely high as they’re likely going to hand out a max contracts to KD, and they’re already paying Steph Curry about $40 million a year.

If Klay can reach an agreement on an extension with the team this summer, the Warriors could keep him in Golden State for $121 million on a five-year contract.

Golden State may have to consider trading Thompson if they can’t convince him to take a pay cut.

For now, the reporting make it sounds like Klay is prioritizing staying with the Warriors over making millions more during his next contract.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on this situation all summer long, and it may drag on into the 2018-19 season.

Next: Warriors Roster Rankings: Klay Thompson

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