Curious Klay Thompson controversy could be opportunity Spurs need
By Sean McKenna
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In case you missed it, potential free agent target, sharp-shooting Klay Thompson has unfollowed the Warriors on social media and deleted most of his Warriors content. Is it a bit petty? Maybe. Thompson’s also given his everything to that franchise for many years and reaped quite the rewards for his hard work.
Maybe he’s not being petty and just has come to grips with the fact that he’s moving forward with his career, and it won’t be in the Bay area any longer. He is a free agent, and the NBA is a business, after all.
How does this affect the Spurs? What team wouldn’t want a quality wing with aim like American marksman Annie Oakley on their team? What free agent with some tread on their tires wouldn’t want to be a part of the premier up-and-coming franchise in the NBA with the greatest coach of all time at the helm?
Golden State’s loss is San Antonio’s gain
Thompson doesn’t have to be a world-beater while wearing Silver and Black. In fact, the Spurs wouldn’t expect him to be. Their starters are already set, with some movement dependent on the draft and potential free agency (obviously), but they’d be signing Thompson for his instant offense off the bench and his veteran leadership in the room.
The Spurs are savvy. They’ve always been. It’s the reason they won 50 games or more for 18 straight years and why they are way ahead of schedule on their rebuild. Signing a player like Thompson is not only smart from a business perspective—a familiar name sells tickets—but it’s also smart from the perspective of teaching this young core how to win. They’re ready for the next step, and they need a player who’s been there before to teach them how to succeed.
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