3 Golden State Warriors who are expendable, and 3 they can't afford to trade
No. 1: Klay Thompson is expendable
Klay Thompson is one of the greatest Warriors in franchise history. He's been one of the cornerstone players for one of the best dynasties in basketball history, a key part of four championship teams, a starter on the only team to win 73 games in a season. He has hit the 10th-most 3-pointers in NBA history and paired with Stephen Curry to be the best-shooting backcourt of all time.
There are obviously some big reasons not to trade Klay Thompson that have nothing to do with his play on the court. What he has meant to the Warriors' franchise and their fan base, the fact that he has never worn another jersey, the idea that he, Steph and Draymond deserve to go out together. On the court, however? Thompson is clearly expendable.
Through no fault of his own, back-to-back serious leg injuries have left Thompson slower and less agile than before, turning him from a solid guard defender into a mediocre forward defender. On offense his game has further devolved into jumpshots, which Klay is hitting at career-worst levels. This season he's taking just 7.7 3-pointers per game, hitting only 36.1 percent of them. Last season he hit 4.4 3-pointers per game; this season just 2.8.
Thompson is less able to get open from 3-point range, leading to more ill-advised contested 3-pointers and to more short drives inside the arc for a pull-up long 2, the worst shot in basketball. He is also taking half as many shots at the rim, instead lofting them up from 3-10 feet away from the basket, another sign he can't beat defenders to the rim.
Klay is on a $43 million expiring contract, he gets worse physically with every season, and his inability to cull horrible shots from his repertoire all point to him being an obvious trade candidate. If you take the past out of the equation he is a player the Warriors should allow another team to overpay. That doesn't mean the Warriors will or should trade him; that history matters, too. From an on-court standpoint, however, Klay is expendable, and perhaps recognizing that will allow Steve Kerr to lessen his role.