Warriors Shoot Down Rumors Of Klay Thompson Being Traded To Celtics

Klay Thompson is coming off his best game of the season, scoring 30 points– including five three-pointers– in the Golden State Warriors’ 133-120 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.

Warriors Shoot Down Rumors Of Klay Thompson Being Traded To Celtics

Despite the shooting guard’s breakout performance, nevertheless, trade rumors continue to circulate. According to the most recent rumor, the Warriors are shipping Thompson to the Boston Celtics for guard Avery Bradley, forward Jae Crowder and the Brooklyn Nets’ 2017 first-round pick.

The rumor, which was floated by Celtics TV analyst Brian Scalabrine– a former Boston player– Golden State would then ship the Nets’ draft pick in order to acquire a rim-protecting big man. Scalabrine walked that rumor back early Monday:

Unsurprisingly, reporters began asking Warriors head coach Steve Kerr about the potential move. 

“I think our guys know that stuff is almost always BS,” Kerr told the media later in the day. “If that became a story I would probably talk to Klay. I didn’t know it was a story until just now. I’ll go home and get on the Internet and decide whether to call Klay or not.”

Thompson has gotten off to a slow start this season, shooting a career-worst 32 percent from beyond the arc and averaging 18.8 points. However, he could turn it around. In his past three games, Thompson has scored 12 of 19 attempts from deep and has shot 50 percent or better in each of his past four games.

Like Kerr, Scalabrine later explicitly stated during an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio, that he vehemently believed the Thompson trade rumor to be false.

“That can’t be true. I don’t understand why they would,” Scalabrine said. “But maybe they’re on what I’m on. It’s going to be impossible to win a championship without having rim protection against LeBron [James] and Kyrie [Irving]. So who’s your most valuable asset, or who’s your most unneeded asset at this point? I don’t know, but I heard that rumor going around and it was specifically to a team that wears green.”

The article Scalabrine read describing the rumor was written by The Morning Ledger’s Justin Bautista, and cited the website sportsrageous.com as a source for the speculation.

The Warriors (8-2) will next visit the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – MAY 22: Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors drives against Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder in game three of the Western Conference Finals during the 2016 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena on May 22, 2016 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.