Klay Thompson, Warriors remain millions apart in contract extension talks

Thompson, one of the better young shooters in the NBA, is reportedly seeking a max-level deal with an annual payout around $15 million. The Warriors, on the other hand, are offering a deal closer to $13 million annually, and have held off on giving Thompson the max money he wants.

If the two sides don’t agree to a deal in the next three weeks, Thompson will hit restricted free agency next summer. If things get to that point, after the trade rumors and failed negotiations, Golden State will have itself a rather complicated situation with one of its best players. So can the two sides complete a deal by the end of the month?

If the Warriors were always this enamored with Thompson, why wait to give him a max-level extension? Barring an absolutely disastrous 2014-15 season, he’s almost assuredly going to get massive offer sheets as a restricted free agent next summer. Why not avoid the entire issue by just committing to The Splash Brothers long-term right now?

There’s really just one solution if Golden State indeed views Thompson as a building block, and that’s a big money contract extension. After a summer of giving every indication that he’s indeed a long-term piece for the franchise, the Warriors don’t really have anywhere to go with this unless they’re comfortable dealing with Thompson’s RFA status next summer.

The Warriors continue giving off the sense that Thompson is a franchise cornerstone, but does he really deserve that kind of praise? As good a young player as Thompson has been the past couple years, he’s also fairly one-dimensional and hasn’t been the kind of traditional star that gets such a substantial commitment.

One statistic certainly isn’t the end-all, be-all, but Thompson’s 13.8 career PER doesn’t exactly scream elite player. There are numerous reasons for that, from his terrible rebounding to an assist rate that’s stagnated and remains below-average for his position. Yes, Thompson is an elite shooter, but he’s far from a well-rounded player at this point.

That gets back to the question of, “How much do you pay a young player who’s shown just one elite skill?” Because while Thompson’s one elite skill is arguably the most valuable one in basketball, there’s just not a whole lot else to his game yet. He’s more of a high-level role player than a legitimate star, and Golden State needs to determine whether that kind of player deserves a max-level salary.

The fact that the team remains unconvinced with just weeks before the extension deadline indicates that there isn’t 100 percent confidence in Thompson. That’s not a great sign when you’re talking max money.

Given the decisions that Golden State seemingly made this summer to keep Thompson, it’s hard to imagine the two sides enter next season with the uncertainty of an expiring contract looming. There might be slightly less urgency given the fact that a deal could still ultimately wait until next summer, but more likely, the two sides find some middle ground and get a deal done. Even if it’s not quite the maximum, Thompson will presumably get paid sooner or later.