Warriors GM: Injuries to KD, Klay won't affect team's pursuit
The likelihood of Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson missing a majority of the 2019-20 season won't make the Golden State Warriors think twice about trying to bring them back.
Both stars are expected to become free agents this summer, but they'll be recovering from devastating injuries suffered in The Finals against the Toronto Raptors. Thompson will reportedly miss at least nine months while recovering from a torn ACL suffered in Game 6, while Durant could sit the entire season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn Achilles.
On Friday, Warriors general manager Bob Myers suggested the team will still offer both players max contracts after shooting down the notion that Golden State would reconsider re-signing them.
"No. There's things I can say - there's all these rules - but I would say we value those guys at the highest level," Myers said, according to The Athletic's Anthony Slater. "I wouldn't be a very good - whatever I am - GM if I didn't understand how valuable they are to our own team.
"It sometimes gets lost, but when Kevin plays in the NBA Finals we've gone 9-1. I don't know what else matters. And Klay's - they're both fantastic. Those are guys you do everything you can to keep within your organization."
Myers isn't alone in his mindset. On Wednesday, it was reported other teams that had been willing to sign Durant pre-injury are still interested despite his potentially lengthy absence.
Interest in Thompson around the league appears to be limited, but that's presumably due to the underlying belief he was always going to re-sign with the Warriors anyway. His father, Mychal Thompson, all but confirmed that theory on Friday when he said there's "no question" his son would return.
When asked if he has any sense about whether Durant wants to come back, Myers responded bluntly.
"I don't know," he said. "I don't know. But what more could you ask for from him? He's been everything."