Lakers offered DLo in Klay trade, Warriors said no

Klay Thompson appears to be on his way to joining the Dallas Mavericks. According to multiple reports, Thompson has agreed to a deal to join Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and company with the reigning Western Conference champions, and while the deal is currently contingent on the Mavs reaching an agreement with the Golden State Warriors and Charlotte Hornets, it appears Thompson will be playing for someone else for the first time in his NBA career.

In the days leading up to the start of free agency, there was a lot of smoke surrounding Thompson and the Los Angeles Lakers, with LeBron James reportedly willing to take a pay cut if it meant they could land the future Hall of Famer. According to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report, the Lakers offered Thompson a three- or four-year deal that would pay him around $20 million per year. And apparently, they weren’t all that interested in the return the Warriors would get for Thompson from LA.

“It obviously required a trade and a signing, so it had nothing to do with LeBron James’ decision to take less,” Haynes said. “It required a trade and a signing to get Klay, and that didn’t happen, it just didn’t happen. I’m told that probably would have involved D’Angelo Russell being part of a deal to get Klay, and from what I’m told, the Warriors weren’t interested in bringing back D’Angelo Russell — remember, D’Angelo spent a year with them a couple years ago.”

Russell spent half of the 2019-20 season with the Warriors, the team acquiring him in the deal that sent Kevin Durant to Brooklyn. The marriage never quite worked out as the Warriors lost Steph Curry early in the year and floundered for the rest of the season, and at the trade deadline the team sent him to the Minnesota Timberwolves.