Golden State Warriors didn’t trade Klay Thompson because of Stephen Curry?
By Bryan Rose
Although Kevin Love was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this offseason, had the Golden State Warriors been willing to trade Klay Thompson to the Minnesota Timberwolves, it seems likely Love would be playing basketball in the Bay Area.
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There have been conflicting reports as to why the Golden State Warriors balked at the trade offer though it seems clear the main reason was to keep Klay Thompson on their roster. Why though? Obviously Klay Thompson is a very solid player, but a player like Kevin Love doesn’t become available in trade very often. Most would have made the trade, but not the Warriors and there appears to be a very good reason for it.
According to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, the Golden State Warriors were concerned about upsetting Stephen Curry who has become very close with Klay Thompson.
"I would’ve loved to see Steph Curry and Kevin Love play together, but the team didn’t want to break up the Splash Brothers. I think they were also being careful not to upset Curry, since they had already fired Mark Jackson when Steph wanted to keep him, so trading his buddy could’ve strained the relationship."
It might sound petty on the surface but the last thing the Warriors want to do is anger their star player. Granted, it’s very possible Curry would have changed his tune once Love made his way to the organization though that apparently wasn’t a risk the Golden State front office was willing to take.
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