Lakers Trade Rumors: Klay Thompson Trade Negotiations With Golden State Warriors Took Place
Lakers trade rumors suddenly reveal Klay Thompson came up in previous negotiations. These LA Lakers trade rumors reveal that when the team was looking to deal Dwight Howard, the team had conversations with the Golden State Warriors about acquiring Thompson.
Los Angeles Times NBA writer Eric Pincus took to Twitter to post that, “I hear there was some basic discussion b/w Lakers/Warriors on Howard/Klay but GST wasn’t sure DH would re-sign.”
Now it is very clear that the Lakers did not trade Dwight Howard for Klay Thompson, as the franchise instead allowed him to get to free agency. The Lakers got nothing in return for Howard, and he ended up signing a four-year deal with the Houston Rockets for just about $88 million. Howard has a player option that he is expected to decline in the NBA offseason, likely making him a free agent once again. It’s even possible that the Lakers could consider bringing him back when Kobe Bryant retires.
These LA Lakers trade rumors certainly could have shifted the fates of many NBA franchises if a deal for Klay Thompson had actually been worked out. Thompson ended up turning into an All-Star shooting guard for the Golden State Warriors. During the 2014-15 NBA season, he averaged 21.7 points per game and helped Stephen Curry take the team all the way to the NBA Finals. Now the Warriors have a 48-4 record during the 2015-16 NBA season, putting the team on pace to break the all-time record for most team wins in a season.
Klay Thompson also received a nice contract extension from the Warriors and has three more years left on his current deal. He likely won’t be leaving the Warriors as long as the team continues winning games at such a torrid pace. While it could have been interesting to see what Dwight Howard might have been able to do with Stephen Curry on the Warriors, it’s almost more intriguing for NBA fans to wonder how Thompson could have done with Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.
While there are a lot of LA Lakers trade rumors about what might happen before the February 18 NBA trade deadline, a lot of stories about past negotiations have surfaced in the past week. A report from ESPN.com earlier in the week talked about how the Lakers looked into trading Kobe Bryant to the Cleveland Cavaliers for LeBron James. While the trade never got close to being made, mostly because it seems like the Cavs wouldn’t give up James, it certainly has had NBA analysts talking about how it could have changed the landscape of the league since 2007.
While the deals to acquire Klay Thompson and LeBron James never came to pass, there are still quite a few other LA Lakers trade rumors floating around the league. Current players who could get dealt before the NBA trade deadline include Roy Hibbert, Lou Williams, Nick Young, Brandon Bass, Ryan Kelly, Robert Sacre, and Jordan Clarkson. The deals could depend on how much money the Lakers will take on in return and whether opposing teams are willing to trade draft picks to Los Angeles.
The 2016 NBA trade deadline hits at 12 p.m. PT on Thursday, February 18. This gives teams just about a week to make trades, with the All-Star break serving as a great opportunity for general managers to negotiate. The Lakers are heading toward another lottery pick, so the team likely won’t take on veterans like Al Horford, Rudy Gay, or Dwight Howard at this time. What most of the LA Lakers trade rumors indicate is a quest to add more draft picks and continue rebuilding the roster with young talent.
[Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images]