Warriors Rumors: Klay Thompson “Intrigued” By Rising Eastern Conf. Team

After the disappointing season of the Golden State Warriors and Klay Thompson in particular, the veteran Splash Brother now has a decision to make on his future. As a free agent, he can be courted by other teams, and there have already been some suitors noted on the rumor mill.

Klay has heard the buzz as well, and it sounds like there is mutual interest between Thompson and the Orlando Magic.

"The Magic can open up an excess of sixty million dollars in cap space this off season...One name to keep an eye on, Klay Thompson, I'm told there is mutual interest between the Magic and Klay Thompson."@ShamsCharania on the Magic's future plans.

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The Magic just showed they are one tiny step away from being a real factor in the Eastern Conference, after succumbing in 7 hard-fought games to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Insider Shams Charania says the Magic will have the cap room to make a run at Klay, and he will, apparently, be all ears.

"The Magic can open up an excess of sixty million dollars in cap space this off season, so they're going to be players... in free agency," said Charania on Monday. "One name to keep an eye on is Klay Thompson. I'm told there is mutual interest between the Magic and Klay Thompson."

He goes on to say that "Thompson, along with several other vets around the league, are looking at the Magic as a situation where if you plug in a guy like Thompson (or others), this team can make a real jump.

"If you plug in some more shooting and scoring, that's what can take this Orlando Magic team to another level."

The Magic finished this season as the five-seed in the Eastern Conference with 47 wins.

The Warriors might have something to say about Orlando's pursuit of Thompson, as Steph Curry will be putting pressure on management not to let his longtime backcourt partner go. But finances and luxury taxes are a real issue for the Dubs, and they might not have a choice in the matter, if Klay, at age 34, really wants to cash in in free agency.

The Warriors were 10th in the West this year, and lost in the Play-In. Thompson finished this past season averaging 17.9 points, his lowest output in 11 years since his 2nd season in the league. He shot 38.7% from three-point range, which is down a few clicks from his 41% career mark, but still a more than solid number.