Warriors owner plans to keep Curry, Thompson with team 'forever'
Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob wants to pen the Splash Brothers to lifetime deals.
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 60 points Friday as Golden State eliminated the Houston Rockets in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals. The Warriors have to wait to discover if they will play the Denver Nuggets or Portland Trail Blazers in the next round, but Lacob didn't hesitate to express his desire to keep the star duo long term.
"Obviously, my intention is to keep them as part of our organization forever," Lacob told ESPN's Nick Friedell. "That's our goal. We'll see what happens."
Thompson is among a group of Warriors stars who will hit free agency this summer, which also includes Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins. Unlike Durant and Cousins, however, the Warriors own Thompson's Bird rights, which allows them to exceed the salary cap to re-sign him.
The 29-year-old is expected to command a max contract as a free agent. According to Friedell, Thompson could be guaranteed as much as $221 million over five years by the Warriors exclusively if he is voted onto an All-NBA team, which would qualify him for a supermax deal. In comparison, other teams could offer him four years at $139 million.
Golden State's chances of keeping Thompson may be helped by more than just financials, too. The sharpshooter spoke about his relationship with Lacob postgame after the two were seen pointing at each other following a clutch 3-pointer by Thompson.
"I can feel his passion," Thompson said. "We've been here before. And shit, he's more into it than most fans. You got to respect someone's passion like that, man. Especially ownership.
"You hear a lot of stories (around the league) about people not caring, but Joe's cared since Day 1, so it felt good to just have that moment with him because I know how much he cares for us to win and how much he wants to be successful."
Keeping Curry around, meanwhile, will be a much easier task for Lacob; the Warriors guard will be 34 by the time he next hits free agency after penning a five-year, $201-million extension in 2017.