Golden State Warriors: Klay Thompson is the real winner in D-Lo trade
The Golden State Warriors made the NBA trade deadline’s blockbuster deal, trading D’Angelo Russell for Andrew Wiggins and some draft capital.
This may end up as a good deal for both the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Warriors were able to get a top-three protected 2021 first-round pick which, if we’re being realistic, could end up in the top ten. They also were able to secure Wiggins, who they believe could continue to make strides in his game and snagged a second-round pick as well.
Yet, at the end of the day, it may be the team’s five-star All-Star Klay Thompson who is the real winner of this deal as his game will not be altered by the team’s need. Thompson, with Russell, would’ve been forced to mold his game around the Russell-Curry backcourt.
The reason that Russell’s fit may not have been a quintessential one is that the team already has the conference’s best backcourt without the All-Star 23-year-old. Yes, I said it. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson at the top of their game make up the game’s best two-man backcourt.
Well, when you add in a star like Russell to the equation, he forces Steve Kerr, when in trouble at the end of the games, to use his best lineup. A team with D’Angelo Russell on the roster should be automatically using him late in games as he’s one of the best young scorers in the league.
That would consequently force Thompson to play the three down the stretch. Having played his entire career as a shooting guard, he’d have to both guard bigger athletes and find other ways to get open with the increased perimeter play.
That’s just not what Thompson needed to thrive, having signed a five-year deal this past offseason. He won’t have to with Wiggins, who will allow him to flawlessly play the two-guard position.
While it’s not talked about often, Thompson is certainly a winner in this trade.