Lakers reportedly make aggressive offer to Klay Thompson

June 5, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors point guard Klay Thompson (11) warms up before Game 2 of the 2022 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Lakers failed in their attempt to land Klay Thompson from the Golden State Warriors, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.

Bleacher Report’s Chris B. Haynes said Monday that the Lakers offered Thompson a contract worth about $20 million per year to get him to choose the Lakers. Haynes added that the Lakers offered a sign-and-trade deal with the Warriors that would have involved D’Angelo Russell, but the Warriors weren’t interested.

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The Lakers offered Klay Thompson “$20 million per year” and offered D’Angelo Russell to the Warriors in a sign-and-trade deal.

The warriors declined, according to @ChrisBHaynes pic.twitter.com/HcfK0PxoM0

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 1, 2024

It’s unclear whether the Warriors’ lack of interest in Russell was the biggest obstacle, or whether Thompson simply preferred going to the Dallas Mavericks. If the latter, Thompson took significantly less money to go to Dallas than the Lakers were expected to offer.

The Warriors had Russell on their roster four years ago and, by their own admission, it didn’t work out. Even without Thompson, there’s no reason to think they would have wanted to do that again.