I will start off by saying that there is no way Klay Thompson will get a max contract. A big reason for this is how he was used under the previous coach Mark Jackson. So if he is looking for a big contract, now is his chance to show he is deserving. Klay was used strictly as a defensive stopper. Normally he was guarding the other team's best guard. On most nights, Jackson had him guarding the other team's point guard so Steph Curry didn't get tired. This move allowed Curry to conserve his energy for offense and be the hero, where as Klay battled foul trouble and lack of production on offense. Klay made Curry's end of the game heroics possible. After signing Andre Iguodala, a first team defensive player, you would think that he would be assigned to do the dirty work. Actually it was a role that Jackson had Thompson doing. With Jackson leaving, the happiest player on the team has to be Klay. Now he can go back to doing what he does best, which is scoring. Maybe Jackson foresaw this and a defensive role was a way to hurt Klay's value. No way does he get the deal he wants under Jackson!
Let's look at one of the comparable players who have gotten a max deal so far, Gordon Hayward. Klay is a better shooter and a far better defender. What Hayward has going for him is that he was utilized by the Jazz in their offense and was one of the leaders on the team. No one knows if Klay can carry a team on his back. Klay doesn't have the ball handling needed to make plays consistently for his team like Hayward has shown he can. Rarely did Jackson run plays for Thompson, and when there was a play, it was just for him to catch and shoot or to post up a smaller guard. Most of the offense for the Warriors was pick and role with Curry. Klay would look real nice with the Spurs team oriented offense or playing alongside a play-making point guard.
Getting traded to the T-Wolves would help Klay get a max contract because he could expand his game a little more. Maybe with the new coach, Steve Kerr, he can show his offensive capabilities a little more. With Jackson he had no chance. Now if I wanted to show my offensive talent, would I want to play with Steph Curry or would I want to play with Ricky Rubio? I know playing with Rubio that I'm going to get the ball. If I'm looking for a max deal and I'm Klay, I'm telling management that I want to be traded to the T-Wolves! If I care about winning, I would just quiet my stance on wanting the max and just sign something for a little less and be happy as a role player in a winning organization.
Now if Klay stays the defensive stopper for the Warriors and has the same role with Kerr as he did with Jackson, I don't see why he should get a max deal. A defense stopper/spot up shooter goes for about 8 million a year, like Trevor Ariza received with the Houston Rockets. A max contract is 15-18 million a year. I look at a max player to have a big role on the team, an 18+ a night scorer. No way can they, or should they, give Klay a max deal to be a role player. If I'm Klay's agent I can agree to disagree that Klay is by far a better player than Gordon Hayward. Warriors on the other hand paying Klay to be a rotational player max money is a waste of money. So give Klay a bigger role on the team or trade him. It's simple Warriors.
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