For many, the thought of Klay Thompson departing the Golden State Warriors is an incomprehensible one regardless of the context of this season and the 34-year-old's impending free agency status.
Yet in the wake of the Warriors' season coming to an end, which included a horror 0-of-10 shooting display from Thompson in Sacramento last week, the five-time All-Star has far from assured his return to the Bay beyond a 12th year.
The Golden State Warriors need to have insurances in place should Klay Thompson depart in free agency this offseason
While Thompson may remain more likely than not to re-sign with Golden State, the franchise needs to, and will have alternative plans if things go awry. The veteran sharpshooter is an unrestricted free agent after all, and a young exciting team like the Orlando Magic may pay a price the Warriors are unwilling to match.
Golden State can re-sign Thompson using bird rights, meaning they can't just go and use the salary they would have given him on someone else (not without a sign-and-trade anyway). According to Spotrac, the absolute maximum salary cap room the Warriors can open up is under $7.3 million.
That will significantly hamper the franchise's ability to replace Thompson, and even if he's no longer his prime self, they simply won't be able to sign anyone near the caliber of player who averaged 17.9 points on 38.7% three-point shooting this season.
Perhaps the Warriors should look at adding shooting anyway even if they do re-sign Thompson, but they could become an attractive destination for some lower-tier free agents if a bunch of minutes open up from the franchise legend's departure.
Many of Thompson's minutes would likely go to younger players already at the franchise, most notably Brandin Podziemski and/or Moses Moody. Yet Golden State should also explore alternative options so while they're far from the cream of the free agency crop, let's have a look three players who the franchise may have interest in: