LA Times: Lakers in talks to acquire Klay Thompson and facilitate Love deal

[footey]

I took a look at a Timberwolves forum and the reaction seems to be (more or less), "MIght as well take Boston's package... #6 is better than #7."

The consensus there seems to be that since the Timberwolves can only keep their 2015 pick if it ends up in the Top 5, taking Boston's pick package is their best shot at keeping their own pick next year.... they don't want to get David Lee and push towards mediocrity.

In fact, the consensus there seems to be that Flip is leaking all of these false reports in an effort to get Boston to improve their offer even more.  One Timberwolves fan even wondered if maybe the issue is that Boston hasn't actually offered the #6 yet. 

Interesting.   At this point, I don't really care.  I'd prefer to see the Celtics land Embiid (probably will cost us at least #6 and #17 to move up... if even possible)... and then trade Rondo for additional picks/youth.  That would be exciting.  We'd be terrible in the immediate future, but long term we'd have a bright future.

I endorse this message.

[BleedGreen1989]

I took a look at a Timberwolves forum and the reaction seems to be (more or less), "MIght as well take Boston's package... #6 is better than #7."

The consensus there seems to be that since the Timberwolves can only keep their 2015 pick if it ends up in the Top 5, taking Boston's pick package is their best shot at keeping their own pick next year.... they don't want to get David Lee and push towards mediocrity.

In fact, the consensus there seems to be that Flip is leaking all of these false reports in an effort to get Boston to improve their offer even more.  One Timberwolves fan even wondered if maybe the issue is that Boston hasn't actually offered the #6 yet. 

Interesting.   At this point, I don't really care.  I'd prefer to see the Celtics land Embiid (probably will cost us at least #6 and #17 to move up... if even possible)... and then trade Rondo for additional picks/youth.  That would be exciting.  We'd be terrible in the immediate future, but long term we'd have a bright future.

I endorse this message.

Just goes to show the beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Drafting a seemingly injury-prone 7 footer and trading our lone all-star is about as opposite as exciting as it could get for me.

I would just be depressed.

[Randy]

I took a look at a Timberwolves forum and the reaction seems to be (more or less), "MIght as well take Boston's package... #6 is better than #7."

The consensus there seems to be that since the Timberwolves can only keep their 2015 pick if it ends up in the Top 5, taking Boston's pick package is their best shot at keeping their own pick next year.... they don't want to get David Lee and push towards mediocrity.

In fact, the consensus there seems to be that Flip is leaking all of these false reports in an effort to get Boston to improve their offer even more.  One Timberwolves fan even wondered if maybe the issue is that Boston hasn't actually offered the #6 yet. 

Interesting.   At this point, I don't really care.  I'd prefer to see the Celtics land Embiid (probably will cost us at least #6 and #17 to move up... if even possible)... and then trade Rondo for additional picks/youth.  That would be exciting.  We'd be terrible in the immediate future, but long term we'd have a bright future.

I endorse this message.

Just goes to show the beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Drafting a seemingly injury-prone 7 footer and trading our lone all-star is about as opposite as exciting as it could get for me.

I would just be depressed.

I agree. We draft Embiid, he ends up being a bust, we've lost rondo. What are we left with? How are we going to attract free agents?

[KGs Knee]

#6 or #7 for Thompson is highway robbery.

Honestly, I think your opinion here is possibly being a bit clouded by your obvious love for the Dubs, and the fact Klay is one of your binkies.  No disrespect meant though, we all have player's we're 'in love with'.

If I was GSW I'd want a slight bit more than that, but it certainly is not highway robbery.  Klay isn't the role player Chambers suggests he is, not by a long shot, but he isn't some sure-fire perennial All-Star either.

[MSceltic]

I would offer the 6th for Thompson in a heart beat, he would thrive receiving open shots from Rondo and I want to see what he can really do with out a ball dominating Steph Curry

[cltc5]

I took a look at a Timberwolves forum and the reaction seems to be (more or less), "MIght as well take Boston's package... #6 is better than #7."

The consensus there seems to be that since the Timberwolves can only keep their 2015 pick if it ends up in the Top 5, taking Boston's pick package is their best shot at keeping their own pick next year.... they don't want to get David Lee and push towards mediocrity.

In fact, the consensus there seems to be that Flip is leaking all of these false reports in an effort to get Boston to improve their offer even more.  One Timberwolves fan even wondered if maybe the issue is that Boston hasn't actually offered the #6 yet. 

Interesting.   At this point, I don't really care.  I'd prefer to see the Celtics land Embiid (probably will cost us at least #6 and #17 to move up... if even possible)... and then trade Rondo for additional picks/youth.  That would be exciting.  We'd be terrible in the immediate future, but long term we'd have a bright future.

Ugggh... embid?  A guy who has a series of injuries now and wont see the court for 4-6 months.  The guy is not that good.  I'm tellin ya, he's got Greg Oden written all over him.

[Ogaju]

More & more of me wants to see this whole thing blow up in Minnesota's face and see Love walk for nothing next year. 

Also, Thursday can't come soon enough.

I think that has a good chance of happening. I really think Flip isn't equipped to play this game of poker.

Its chess. Flip and Ainge negotiating:
"Negotiating with Flip Saunders is like playing chess with a pigeon. It knocks all the pieces around and craps all over the board. Then it struts around like it won", Danny Ainge.

is that a real quote from DA? lol

If that is a real quote from DA then there is no need to wonder why Saunders is playing hardball with him.

[Ogaju]

So if it is true that GSW are trading Thompson for the #7 so that they can offer:

#7  (Draft Pick)
Barnes  (Good Young Player)
Lee  (Capable Vet to fill salary)

Then how does that compare to say:

#6
Sullinger
Bass+Bogans+Anthony

Those seem pretty even to me, maybe the GSW's offer a little better but as has been speculated in other posts, maybe the #6 isn't currently in the Boston offer, instead maybe #17 and a future.  In that case, GSW deal is way better (I think most teams prefer quality to quantity with draft picks).   If the #6 and the #17 are being offered (which I have always doubted), our deal could be better but Lee is still better than the Bass+Bogans+Anthony combination.

Another variation that could be considered would be #6 plus Sullinger plus Green+Bogans.  I think that deal would clearly beat the speculated GSW deal but would we really want to give up Green?  If we get Melo then it wouldn't matter but I guess I thought the point was to have a core of Rondo-Green-Love.

why would you want Green in your core?

[Ogaju]

well, the San Jose Mercury news lists two major stumbling blocks for the GS-Minnesota trade:

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami/2014/06/20/snags-warriors-kevin-love-talks-dont-want-take-back-kevin-martin-dont-want-include-klay-thompson/

"A few hours ago an NBA source insisted to me that the Warriors flat-out will not agree to any of the proposals Minnesota is currently suggesting in the Kevin Love discussions. Not now, not in a day, not in 400 days. The first stumbling block: The Warriors are making it clear to everyone in the league, including Minnesota president Flip Saunders, that they very much do not want to part with Klay Thompson, the key part of any Minnesota demand. San Jose Mercury-News


Second big stumbling block: The Warriors have zero desire to take back expensive, no-defense shooting guard Kevin Martin in the deal, the source said. San Jose Mercury-News"

Sounds to me like Minnesota made an offer to GS, the Warriors refused, and then Minnesota went to the press and made it sound like a done deal that GS proposed. Just as I thought, there are no offers on the table yet that beat the celtics offer.

This also supports the idea that the lakers rumor is total BS.

Does this mean that Mychal Thompson (Klay's dad) 'broke' false information. He works for gthe Lakers what does he gain by this leak? Did he want to protect his son by getting the GSW fans to bulk at the trade? What was Mychal's agenda?

[fairweatherfan]

Now that I think about it, why the heck would the Lakers be trading for Klay anyway?  Isn't the 2 guard the one position they've got locked down already?  This rumor doesn't make much sense even by rumor standards.

[hpantazo]

well, the San Jose Mercury news lists two major stumbling blocks for the GS-Minnesota trade:

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami/2014/06/20/snags-warriors-kevin-love-talks-dont-want-take-back-kevin-martin-dont-want-include-klay-thompson/

"A few hours ago an NBA source insisted to me that the Warriors flat-out will not agree to any of the proposals Minnesota is currently suggesting in the Kevin Love discussions. Not now, not in a day, not in 400 days. The first stumbling block: The Warriors are making it clear to everyone in the league, including Minnesota president Flip Saunders, that they very much do not want to part with Klay Thompson, the key part of any Minnesota demand. San Jose Mercury-News


Second big stumbling block: The Warriors have zero desire to take back expensive, no-defense shooting guard Kevin Martin in the deal, the source said. San Jose Mercury-News"

Sounds to me like Minnesota made an offer to GS, the Warriors refused, and then Minnesota went to the press and made it sound like a done deal that GS proposed. Just as I thought, there are no offers on the table yet that beat the celtics offer.

This also supports the idea that the lakers rumor is total BS.

Does this mean that Mychal Thompson (Klay's dad) 'broke' false information. He works for gthe Lakers what does he gain by this leak? Did he want to protect his son by getting the GSW fans to bulk at the trade? What was Mychal's agenda?

Ratings for his radio show. When pressed afterwards he said his source for the rumor was espn. He basically knows nothing.

[KGs Knee]

Now that I think about it, why the heck would the Lakers be trading for Klay anyway?  Isn't the 2 guard the one position they've got locked down already?  This rumor doesn't make much sense even by rumor standards.

I'm pretty sure Klay has enough size (6'7" 205 lbs.) to be a reasonably effective SF

[mgent]

#7 for Klay Thompson is fair value.

Ainge should offer the #6 for Klay. Klay's game would provide good balance to Rondo's in the backcourt. Make Boston very big on the perimeter too with Rondo, Klay and J.Green. Nice long athletic perimeter trio.

I also disagree. Have you read Canis Hoopus' recent article about Klay and his comparable players and lack of improvement in his three years in the league?

#6 or #7 for Thompson is a steal, I would do that all day if we can't do anything bigger.

As for the article, I don't think this trade makes any sense at all for Warriors or Wolves.  Involving the Lakers just makes things worse.

It's a steal for the Warriors.
Thompson is a role player.

Ha ha, funny. Klay Thompson can be the second option on offense in ANY contending team (well, maybe except OKC).

We already know how good a shooter he is, he can post up smaller defenders and he's slowly improving his attacks to the basket.

Add to it that he can defend 3 positions very well. He's probably the 2nd or 3rd most important player in that Dubs team (Bogut I think is actually more important but that's a debate for another day) . He's not a role player.

#6 or #7 for Thompson is highway robbery.

The 2nd best scorer on a contender?
With a PER of 14.4? Now THAT is funny!
Now I'm not the biggest fan of biased stats like PER, but that would be the first time in the existence of basketball that someone with a PER that low was the 2nd option on a contender.

He also had 2 All Stars and a very important defensive big man, and all NBA defensive wing man in iggy.
So no, he's not the 2nd most important and would never be the 2nd scoring on any true contender or top 6 team. Not even with Lebron on the team.
He's a role player. Shoots threes, plays decent defense. Doesn't do ANYTHING else.
Working on his drives? No he isn't. He has barely improved from his first year. Look at the numbers.

If Klay Thompson is ever going to be on a championship team, he is going to be a role player.
Part of the reason this team is had such a disappointing season is because of his inconsistency. If this team still had Monta with Klay coming off the bench, or Klay starting with Monta getting starter minutes off the bench, then this team would be in better position. I wouldn't say Thompson is the most overrated player  because his expectations weren't as high outside of the Bay Area.

I posted this elsewhere but I'll add it here for you:
Klay's obviously a better defender but this highlights how similar they are on offense.
2014 NBA season:

Klay's PER 14.3
K Mart's PER 16.3

Klay 3 point shooting 41.7 %
K Mart 3 point shooting 38.7%

Klay Offensive rating 108
Klay Defensive rating 106

K Mart Offensive rating 110
K Mart Defensive rating 109

Thompson's team mates Iguadala and Bogut are going to sway team defense in Klay's favor, although I do agree Klay is a good defender. Not spectacular, but good.

I laugh every time that he attempts 2 free throws a game.

Thompson's problem is that he doesn't rebound, doesn't get to the line and won't drive to the rim... and that's his major downfall and why he'll unlikely be anything more than Kevin Martin with better defense but less dribble penetration.

I don't get your point.  If KMart was 24, still had potential, and was on a rookie contract, then he would also be a steal with the #6 pick.

[fairweatherfan]

Now that I think about it, why the heck would the Lakers be trading for Klay anyway?  Isn't the 2 guard the one position they've got locked down already?  This rumor doesn't make much sense even by rumor standards.

I'm pretty sure Klay has enough size (6'7" 205 lbs.) to be a reasonably effective SF

Maybe so, and they'd hope to slide him over once Kobe retires.  Still doesn't seem like a good fit, but maybe they're just trying to be opportunistic.

[Who]

Now that I think about it, why the heck would the Lakers be trading for Klay anyway?  Isn't the 2 guard the one position they've got locked down already?  This rumor doesn't make much sense even by rumor standards.

I'm pretty sure Klay has enough size (6'7" 205 lbs.) to be a reasonably effective SF

Maybe so, and they'd hope to slide him over once Kobe retires.  Still doesn't seem like a good fit, but maybe they're just trying to be opportunistic.

I would think there is a pretty good chance Kobe will need to play more minutes at SF when he returns from injury. I do not expect him to have the same quickness and agility that he had prior to tearing his achilles. Sliding Kobe over to SF and bringing in a hot shooting SG looks a very good option to me for the Lakers.