The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly interested in acquiring Klay Thompson, and LeBron James might be willing to help them in that quest. According to NBA insider Chris Haynes, LeBron would consider taking a pay cut to help the Lakers and an NBA fan on X found it hilarious that he could break up the “Splash Brothers” with this act.
“LeBron taking a pay cut to break up the Splash Brothers is diabolical lol.”
Well, wouldn’t that be incredible? Thompson and Stephen Curry have won four championships together on the Golden State Warriors and they beat LeBron’s Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals on three occasions (2015, 2017, 2018). For him to break them up now would be somewhat poetic.
LeBron would have to take quite a pay cut for this, though. Thompson is a man in demand and the only way the Lakers can offer him the full midlevel exception of $12.9 million would be if their 39-year-old superstar takes a $16 million pay cut. That’s quite a financial hit even for him, but it appears he might be okay with it.
According to Haynes, LeBron would consider taking that $16 million pay cut provided the Lakers are able to bring in an impact player like Thompson. If the team lands the veteran guard thanks to James doing this, then I think it would be time to put to bed the notion that the 20-time All-Star doesn’t care about winning titles anymore.
LeBron is nearing 40, but he just averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game for the Lakers in the 2023-24 season. No one would fault a player who is producing at that rate for wanting all the money they can get, but he appears to be willing to take less to have a better chance at winning a title.
The last time LeBron took a pay cut was when he was with the Miami Heat and it helped the team bring in some key role players. One such individual was Ray Allen and if the Lakers sign Thompson, then there are some parallels that can be drawn here.
Allen played for the Boston Celtics, who were the Heat’s biggest rivals when they assembled that Big 3 of LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. When he became a free agent in 2012, he headed over to Miami to play with James instead of re-signing with the Celtics.
Thompson would be doing something similar here. If this is indeed the end of his time with the Warriors, the 34-year-old has signed off on quite a low.
Thompson went 0-10 from the field and 0-6 from beyond the arc to finish with 0 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist in the Warriors’ 118-94 loss to the Sacramento Kings in the Play-In Tournament. It was just a disastrous outing in every sense of the way.
In some ways, it summed up what was a disappointing 2023-24 season for Thompson. The five-time All-Star averaged 17.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game in the campaign, and shot 38,7% from beyond the arc. Despite that, though, it’s clear he is still held in high regard in the league.
James reportedly called Thompson immediately after free agency started and it seems clear that he wants him on the team. Will Klay head over to Los Angeles? Well, we’ll get the answer to that question fairly soon.
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