With Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson up for a new contract soon, team general manager Bob Myers insisted he wants the shooter in a Warriors uniform for "a long time."
"We value him in the highest way, and we want to keep him on this team for a long time," Myers said Tuesday, via the Mercury News. "... He's just laser-focused. When you watch him play defense, when you watch him shoot, I'm not sure much knocks him off his center, and that's a tribute to his intensity and competitiveness. Certain people are built that way where you just point them in the direction, and they go."
Myers said another part of his desire to keep Thompson with the team was to keep the "Splash Brothers" - Thompson and backcourt teammate Stephen Curry - together.
"I think most people believe it to be the best, one of the best backcourts in the NBA, and I don't think that's a minority opinion. I think it's a majority opinion," said Myers. "That's part of the team you don't worry about too much, right? I mean, that part is good, which is hard to find. The two guard in the NBA is a depleted position, so we feel like if we can move forward with those two guys, we're in pretty good shape."
Thompson is one of the best shooting guards in the league, and he cemented that status last season in part by becoming the first-ever player to make 500 3-pointers through the first three years of his career.
Still, it didn't stop his name from being mentioned in rumors this summer linking him to a Kevin Love trade. While the talks bothered Thompson, Golden State's unwillingness to part with him purportedly was the one holdup in the Minnesota Timberwolves shipping Love to Golden State.
Myers didn't discuss how the contract extension talks were going with Thompson's side. Thompson becomes a restricted free agent in July, barring an extension before the Oct. 31 deadline.
