Klay Thompson’s disastrous game might be his last as a Warrior

Thompson went scoreless in the Golden State Warriors’ play-in-game loss to the Sacramento Kings. He shot 0-of-10 from the floor in a game where the Kings held the Warriors to just 94 points and beat their Northern California rivals by 24 points.

It was an up-and-down year for Thompson, who lost his place in the starting lineup at midseason before returning to the starting unit. 

While he didn’t reach the same level he hit before tearing his ACL and Achilles tendon in consecutive years, missing roughly two-and-a-half seasons, he still shot 38.7 percent from three-point range and averaged 17.9 points. He led the NBA in free-throw percentage and was fourth in three-pointers made.

Thompson’s contract is up after the season, and his future is uncertain. After a 10th-place season, Warriors ownership isn’t likely to pay the luxury tax next year, meaning Chris Paul is almost certainly gone and Thompson is looking at a pay cut.

Teammate Draymond Green doesn’t think he’s going anywhere.

Coach Steve Kerr told reporters he and the organization “desperately want him back.” That doesn’t mean they’ll necessarily agree on dollars or years, but it sounds like the team isn’t ready to say goodbye to the group of Thompson, Green and Steph Curry that’s been together for 12 seasons, an eternity in the NBA.

Tuesday’s rough night might have changed that. Or, it may have made the prideful Thompson decide he didn’t want his last game in a Warriors uniform to be a scoreless effort.

Regardless, the team will have plenty of time to negotiate Thompson’s new deal. Unfortunately for them, it’s many more weeks than expected.