NBA Rumors: Klay Thompson Linked to Mavericks in 2024 Free Agency amid Warriors Buzz

Klay Thompson's future is now a major focus of the offseason after the Golden State Warriors' season ended on Tuesday night with a 118-94 loss to the Sacramento Kings in the NBA play-in tournament.

Per ESPN's Zach Lowe, Thompson is expected to draw "some interest" as he prepares to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

The Athletic's Sam Amick cited the Dallas Mavericks as a potential suitor for Thompson if they want to add another shooter around Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving, as well as the Orlando Magic as a wild card in the situation.

There have been growing indications the Warriors are going to use this offseason as something of a reset. Governor Joe Lacob said on The TK Show with The Athletic's Tim Kawakami in February that one of their top priorities is to get out of the luxury tax sooner than later.

"Our Plan 1, or 1A, is that we'd like to be out of the tax, and we think that we have a way to do that," Lacob said (h/t CBS Sports' Sam Quinn). "That kind of is the plan, not just under the second apron. I'll tell you why that's important because the truth is, we need to be out of the tax two years out of the next four in order to get this repeater thing off our books. We don't want to be a repeater. It's just so prohibitive, not to say we wouldn't do it if we had to, but you've gotta look at what the downside is to doing that. So, that's the plan, is to try to do that, and we think we can keep our team together and retain even the players that are, we might be able to bring players back at different numbers and so on."

Per ESPN's Bobby Marks, the Warriors' current salary commitments of $174 million next season is just over the $171.3 million threshold for the first tax apron.

It's hard to envision a scenario in which the Warriors stay under the second apron at $189.6 million if they bring back Thompson, though it all depends on what he's looking for in his next deal.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported in December that Thompson rejected a two-year, $48 million extension offer from the Warriors last offseason.

The Mavericks already have $171 million in salary commitments on the books for next season. Tim Hardaway Jr. is a potential trade candidate since he will be playing on a $16.2 million expiring contract in 2024-25.

Thompson shot 38.7 percent from three-point range this season, compared to 35.3 percent for Hardaway. But it's fair to wonder if Thompson would be enough of an upgrade over Hardaway if he is looking for a deal that pays him at least $8 million more for multiple years going into his age-34 season.

If the Mavs make a deep playoff run, any interest they have in Thompson right now might evaporate.

A team like the Magic would be a great fit for Thompson because they need anyone who can shoot the ball and improve their offense. They ranked in the bottom 10 in the NBA in points per game, offensive rating, three-pointers made per game and three-point percentage.

Orlando already has an excellent defensive foundation in place, so Thompson wouldn't need to be a two-way star to fit in with the roster.

There's also the matter of what Thompson is looking for, both in terms of money and team fit at this point in his career. He's only ever known one organization and this could be the first time he actually tests the market.

Thompson was a free agent in the summer of 2019, but he quickly agreed to a five-year, $190 million deal when the legal tampering period began to remain with the Warriors.