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Golden State Warriors: 5 Reasons Keeping Klay Thompson Makes Sense

By Gerald Bourguet

December 17, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson (11) celebrates after a play against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
December 17, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson (11) celebrates after a play against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Klay Thompson
Dec 29, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Golden State Warriors small forward Harrison Barnes reacts during a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. The Warriors won 108-104. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Harrison Barnes:

As mentioned on the previous slide, the Warriors believed an offer of Harrison Barnes and David Lee was good enough for Love. The Wolves ideally wanted Thompson, Barnes and Lee for Love and Martin. Either way, it was inevitable that had a deal gone down, Barnes would have been shipped off to Minnesota, either because the Wolves had accepted Golden State’s underwhelming Lee-Barnes package or because the Warriors had caved by taking on Love and Martin’s contract for Thompson, Lee and Barnes.

Now that Kevin Love is officially off the table, Thompson and Barnes can both breathe easier…for a second. Because as soon as that second’s over, expectations for the 2014-15 season begin to mount. Thompson faces most of the pressure since his exclusion from a deal is what eventually doomed it, but Barnes will feel the heat too following a disappointing sophomore campaign last season, especially if the rumor the Warriors passed on Arron Afflalo is true.

That being said, it’s far too early to give up on this 22-year-old who put up 16.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in the playoffs as a rookie. Barnes definitely has some things to work on next year, but he still has potential and after a season of backing up Andre Iguodala, he’ll hopefully be better adjusted to coming off the bench.

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