Warriors Retain Klay Thompson, Trade For D'Angelo Russell, Media Reports Say

Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson decided to remain part of the Splash Brothers.

And rising guard D'Angelo Russell will also join the club of the National Basketball Association.

ESPN reported on Sunday (June 30) that the Warriors and the Brooklyn Nets agreed to a signing and swap agreement with Russell, who will receive a four-year, US $ 117 million (S $ 158.4 million) agreement. Russell is a restricted free agent. It was not immediately known what the Nets received in exchange.

Golden State still needed to liquidate the salary to make the deal and was able to get rid of some by handing out veteran forward Andre Iguodala (who would win almost $ 17.2 million in 2019-20) to the Memphis Grizzlies. The Warriors also reported that they sent protected first-round picks in 2024 and 2025 and an unprotected first-round pick in 2026 to the Grizzlies.

There was no information in the ESPN report about what Memphis would send to Golden State to complete the deal.

The addition of Russell and Thompson's retention comes on the same day that All-Star forward Kevin Durant pitched Golden State in favor of joining the Nets.

The Warriors were betting that Thompson would stay and the 29-year-old accepted a five-year, $ 190 million maximum deal with the Warriors on Sunday night, according to multiple sources.

The agreement leaves Thompson under contract with the Warriors through the 2023-24 campaign. The five-time All-Star, he could lose most or all of the 2019-20 season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee that occurred during Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors.

Thompson chose to stay with fellow three-point shooter Stephen Curry to keep one of the best courts in the league intact. The Warriors have won three NBA titles in five Finals appearances with that elite duo.

Thompson has spent his entire eight-year career with Golden State since he was the 11th overall pick in the 2011 Washington State draft. He has averaged 20 or more points in each of the last five seasons, including a mark of 21.5 in 2018-19. Thompson has buried more than 200 triples in seven consecutive seasons.

He got 241 three-pointers last season, with third place with 276 in 2015-16 and 268 in 2016-17. He has the record of 14 games of the season, established last season against the Chicago Bulls.

Russell was an All-Star for the Nets last season when he set career highs of 21.1 points and 7.0 assists per game.

The 23-year-old was the second overall selection for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2015, but he struggled to fit in, averaging 13.2 points as a rookie and 15.6 points in his second season.

He was traded to the Nets before the 2017-18 season and averaged 15.5 points in his first season with the club. He was limited to 48 games due to knee surgery.

He has career averages of 16.5 points, 5.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds.

By: Preeti Narula

Content: https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/basketball/nba-warriors-retain-klay-thompson-trade-for-dangelo-russell-say-media-reports