ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said on Monday’s episode of First Take that “some of the elite in the game” have told the Golden State Warriors to prioritize Klay Thompson over Kevin Durant in free agency:

Says Stephen A.: 

“We all know that KD is All-World, but Golden State is not really prioritizing him: A, because KD’s his own man, he’s going to make whatever decision he’s going to make. And they believe whether he elects to stay or go, what else can they do for him? They’ve got a first-class organization. They’re moving into a state-of-the-art new facility.”

“They know that he commands the max, so they’d give it to him, etc. He’s going to make the decision. But I also have been told that they have been advised, strongly I might add, by some of the elite in the game, Hall of Famers as executives and players: Prioritize Klay Thompson. In other words, offer Klay Thompson every penny that you can. If you short-change him in any way in free agency, he will consider departing. Probably for the Clippers more so than anybody else.”

“We need to keep our eyes on that, even though I’m told by Golden State there’s no way in hell they’re going to do that. They’re going to keep the Splash Brothers together.”

Klay Thompson is more of a sure thing  compared to KD. 

 It’s expected he would re-sign with the Warriors if they presented him with a maximum contract. 

“If they come with a five-year, $190 million max deal for Klay Thompson, that’s done on July 1—he’s going into the new building with Steph Curry,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said Monday on Get Up! “If they try to do anything less than that, you can expect Klay Thompson to be out in free agency.

Even if KD leaves they are still going to be a tough team.

Remember they were pretty darn good before KD ever arrived.  

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