Warriors rumored to be in danger of losing Klay Thompson to Western Conference rival

Klay Thompson seems unlikely to return to the Golden State Warriors with a Western Conference rival rumored to make a move for the guard. According to Marc Stein via his Substack ($), Thompson and the Dallas Mavericks have "strong mutual interest" that is expected to materialize upon the start of free agency on Sunday night.

“The latest evidence of that: Amid a growing belief leaguewide that Thompson's relationship with the Golden State Warriors is irretrievable, strong mutual interest between Thompson and the Dallas Mavericks is expected when free agency opens Sunday evening, league sources tell The Stein Line.”

Thompson's free agency search may be in a possible holding pattern as the Warriors wait for Paul George's free agency decision with the star considering Golden State to play the next part of his career. It is more probable than not that the splash brother is probably upset with the Warriors unable to reach his demands as the sharp-shooter declines.

The five-time All-Star has struggled in the last two seasons after two major lower-body injuries (torn left ACL in 2019, right Achilles tear during his rehab). Thompson averaged 17.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game on 43.2 percent shooting from the floor. The guard is looking at a contract around $20-30 million ($30 million is on the more unlikely end) per year.

Mavericks next big move rumored to involve Klay Thompson

While this is a credible report by one of the NBA's best insiders, it's hard to see a world where Thompson heads to the Mavericks unless the guard takes a major discount. Additionally, Dallas will probably look to re-sign Derrick Jones Jr. with the limited space Dallas has ($12 million non-tax mid-level).

While the Mavericks may go after Thompson if they can't re-sign Jones, Dallas likely can't make a fair offer to Thompson without making a big cap-clearing move if Jones returns. Even though this may sound like a backup move for the Mavericks, Thompson will likely use this pressure to get Golden State and other teams to increase their offers.

As Thompson's free agency continues, it's clear that he and the Mavericks have "mutual interest" on a possible contract. And the Western Conference could be shaken up, whether he goes to Dallas or not, as a result.