Klay Thompson did not have an ideal start to the season, missing 42 of his first 53 attempts from deep. And the Golden State Warriors, at times, have looked vulnerable, particularly for a team that was projected to challenge its own single season record of 73 wins. And when you get the type of attention reserved only for “super teams,” there will be a lot of chatter, truth be damned.
Such was the case when former Boston Celtic Brian Scalabrine told SiriusXM NBA Radio, “I heard this weekend that Klay Thompson may be available, I heard a rumor going around involved with a team that wears green.”
As noted by Timothy Rapp of Bleacher Report, the Celtics analyst later appeared on CSNNE.com discussing a hypothetical deal that would send Klay Thompson to the Celtics for Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder and the Brooklyn Nets’ first-round pick, which Boston has the rights to. In the what-if scenario, Scalabrine said the Warriors would then send the draft pick to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Nerlens Noel.
But while bringing in Nerlens Noel’s rim protection makes sense from a Warriors standpoint, head coach Steve Kerr was quick to dismiss the chatter, telling reporters Monday afternoon, “I think our guys know that stuff is almost always BS.”
Klay Thompson is still shooting well below his career three-point shooting average of 41.7% (31.9 this season), but he has shot the ball much like the Splash Brother that he is in his last three games, going 12-19 during that stretch, capped by a 30-point game in a win against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. Despite his early season struggles, Klay Thompson is averaging 18.8 points a game. While the Warriors, who got blown out by the San Antonio Spurs on opening night, are 8-2, and are currently just behind conference leaders Los Angeles Clippers (9-1).