Report: Steve Kerr and Jerry West don’t want to trade Klay Thompson
The Golden State Warriors-Minnesota Timberwolves have hit an impasse and the Warriors are to blame. According to Ramona Shelburne and Marc Stein of ESPN.com, Steve Kerr, head coach, and Jerry West, head consultant, aren’t in favor of trading Klay Thompson for Kevin Love.
"After it appeared that the Warriors were prepared to part with Thompson in a deal to land Minnesota’s Love, sources told ESPN.com that Hall of Fame consultant Jerry West and new Warriors coach Steve Kerr have voiced opposition to surrendering both Thompson and a future first-round pick to the Timberwolves along with former All-Star forward David Lee for Love and Wolves guard Kevin Martin."
It’s… it’s not a good look for the Warriors to be so stiff on possibly trading Klay Thompson. It’s not worrisome that they’re overrating Thompson. Front offices often overrate players they drafted and have had the opportunity to develop. But this isn’t a run of the mill trade that Thompson would be involved in. He’d be getting traded for Kevin Love, the best power forward in the NBA, giving the Warriors their best roster in years.
But of course, there’s the conversation on whether Love is as good as people paint him. He is. He’s a step up from David Lee in all areas except post-up offense, and with the league lacking an emphasis on post-up scorers, that makes it a non-issue. With his ability to shoot the three-ball, it’ll allow the Warriors to opt for the spread-four offense that was often used last season when Draymond Green would be on the floor instead of David Lee. Instead, the Warriors may be missing out on the best available player because of the front offices sentiment for an average shooting guard.
The stance may be hard now, but if the past has shown us anything, this trade will eventually be made if the Timberwolves continue to hold conversations with the Warriors. Deep down the Warriors brass know that Klay is good, but he isn’t THAT good.