7 Golden State Warriors at risk of being traded away this summer

No. 5: Klay Thompson

Klay Thompson is coming back to the Golden State Warriors next season. He has to; Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Steve Kerr are now all synced up and under contract for the next two seasons, and it would be unthinkable for them to make one last run without the second Splash Brother on board.

Look at the situation from another angle, however. A proud future Hall of Famer who still thinks he is an offensive star has been moved to the bench and given fewer touches and opportunities to close. He wants one last big payday but is hearing his organization and owner talk about slashing salary next season. Will Klay automatically take a drastic pay cut to stick around? Or could he make the painful decision to walk if he doesn't feel respected by the money offered by Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the Warriors' front office?

If he does find another team willing to pay him could the Warriors look to work out a sign-and-trade? It would require them cutting enough salary elsewhere to make it feasible, and they likely wouldn't want to bring back as much as Thompson signs for, but there is certainly precedent. The last time a star walked the Warriors got a sign-and-trade worked out for D'Angleo Russell, then flipped him for Andrew Wiggins and a first-round pick that became Jonathan Kuminga.

If Klay signs with the Orlando Magic, could Wendell Carter Jr. or Jonathan Isaac come back? If he signs with the Oklahoma City Thunder could they negotiate back Luguentz Dort? What about Jakob Poeltl if he goes to the Toronto Raptors? The landscape will develop by this summer and those options will be further defined.

No one wants Klay to leave, but it's at least feasible that he could, and therefore feasible the Warriors work it as a trade so they don't lose him for nothing.