After a long summer marred with questions about his future with the Cleveland Cavaliers, guard Kyrie Irving was finally dealt to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and the Brooklyn Nets’ 2018 first-round pick. Though the Celtics have solid pieces in place such as Gordon Hayward, the trade gave Irving what he’s wanted all offseason and that would be his own team.
However, before Irving became a Celtic, Cleveland reportedly talked to numerous teams about the 25-year old’s availability, including the Golden State Warriors. According to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, the Cavs called the Warriors about a Kyrie Irving-Klay Thompson swap which Golden State promptly declined:
It would be hard to believe that Altman could have landed a better trade than the Boston one. He did call the uninterested Warriors about Klay Thompson, a source said.
Expecting the Warriors to give up a wing of Thompson’s caliber that meshes perfectly with their style of play for Irving would’ve been hard to picture so their disinterest shouldn’t be a surprise. Though Klay would have been a solid return for Cleveland, a score-first point guard like Kyrie Irving coexisting on a team that already has Stephen Curry on it would be a longshot.
Thompson himself was asked about his thoughts on the reported trade rumors, calling it part of the business and saying he just takes it as the Warriors having confidence in him. Following from Anthony Slater of The Athletic:
Klay Thompson on recent rumors: "It shows the Warriors believe in me and other teams want me to be a part of their success." pic.twitter.com/B6leAYfW5a
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) August 23, 2017
This isn’t Thompson’s first time being brought up in trade rumors this summer as the Indiana Pacers had also inquired about swapping him for Paul George before he was dealt to Oklahoma City, an offer which which the Warriors also declined. Going into next season still on the Golden State roster, Thompson should have an extra sense of confidence and security with his current franchise.
