2019 NBA free agency: Ranking Klay Thompson’s best potential landing spots
By Ananth Para
5. Philadelphia 76ers
With three of the five Philadelphia 76ers starters set to hit free agency (J.J. Redick, Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris), why not replace sharpshooter Redick with, well, a bigger, faster and stronger version?
Although that comparison is selling Klay Thompson’s defensive tenacity and back-to-the-basket game short, the Warriors guard can provide championship pedigree that the unproven Philadelphia 76ers desperately need.
Far too often, the Sixers find themselves unable to buy a bucket in a half-court offense deep into the playoffs, and with Joel Embiid‘s health raising more questions than he could answer and Ben Simmons‘ flat-out disregard in developing a jump shot, Thompson may very well be what the doctor ordered in the City of Brotherly Love.
Not only will Klay Thompson be able to replicate Redick’s offensive production (and surpass it), but he will also undoubtedly act as the 76ers’ premier perimeter defender and have his pick of the litter against an undoubtedly weakened Eastern Conference.
If the Sixers lose their top free agents, a nucleus of a battle-tested Klay Thompson and the dynamic but enigmatic duo of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid would vie for the title of Eastern Conference champions for the foreseeable future.