We’ve just about reached that time of year: the lone extended void in the NBA calendar.
With summer league done and free agency winding down, I decided to put together an offseason Golden State Warriors mailbag. Turns out, fans still have plenty of questions. Here are my answers to the most pressing ones:
@illerci: Do you think Klay returns to All-Star form next season?
I do, yes. Just from a numbers standpoint, he wasn’t far off this past season. In the 32 games Thompson played after returning from an Achilles injury, he averaged 20.4 points on 42.9% shooting (38.5% from 3-point range), 3.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists.
If he can become a bit more efficient and continue to improve defensively, he should be right in the All-Star conversation — that is, assuming the Warriors remain contenders. I’m especially curious to see how Thompson’s perimeter defense looks next season. He was understandably a slow step for months after his return, but he showed some encouragement for progress in the Finals.
@knwbball: Who will make a bigger impact: Donte DiVincenzo or JaMychal Green?
DiVincenzo. No one will mistake him for Gary Payton II defensively, but he plays hard on that end and is good enough at many of the things that matter in the Warriors’ system — cutting toward the rim, finding open teammates, knocking down jumpers — to be the rotation’s seventh or eighth man.
As for Green? I expect him to have a similar role to the one Nemanja Bjelica occupied last season. Depending on who is available, Green’s minutes will probably fluctuate between 10 and 20 a night. Though he struggled from beyond the arc last season, the Warriors are confident he can be a helpful stretch-4 — the type of big man who spaces the floor, guards multiple positions and limits.
@mitchgobetz: Do you make the gamble with KD to try to have the core get a few more rings, even though it would mean mortgaging the future?
I understand why Warriors fans are so intrigued by the possibility of Kevin Durant returning, but I just don’t see it happening. For one, I don’t think Durant would want to come back. He left because he was insistent on having his own team. With Stephen Curry under contract through at least the 2025-26 season, I highly doubt Durant is willing to swallow his pride and be a franchise’s No. 2 player.
Then there is the Warriors’ side of the equation. They have done the almost impossible, winning a championship while also developing their young talent. You don’t mess with that. To get Durant, the Warriors would likely have to part with Jordan Poole or Jonathan Kuminga, if not both — a concession I wouldn’t be willing to make if I was Bob Myers.
No one is doubting Durant’s ability. But given all the drama surrounding him, I’d rather have Andrew Wiggins, Kuminga and Poole any day.
@Qualifiedlmpun2: Extensions! Three key Warriors are eligible for extensions now: Poole, Wiggins and Dray (if he opts out). Do any of them get done? Will we be going into next off-season with all three of them potentially free agents? If so, is that a little problem, big problem or no problem?
Actually, four Important Warriors players are eligible for extensions this summer: Poole, Wiggins, Thompson and Draymond Green. Of that quartet, Poole is probably the highest priority. His extension eligibility expires before the start of next season.
This is a tricky situation for the Warriors to navigate. On one hand, Golden State would risk having to match a maximum offer from a smaller-market team if Poole becomes a restricted free agent in summer 2023. But on the other hand, the Warriors could have to get close to the max to ink him to an extension this summer.
They are expected to sit down with Poole soon to discuss an extension. Whether one gets done, though, will depend on just how much money he asks for. If he wants at or near the max, the Warriors might prefer to let things play out and wait until he hits restricted free agency in 2023.
Should Poole regress this season, Golden State could give him a less lucrative offer next summer. What is clear is this: The Warriors want him as part of their long-term future. If they wait, Poole improves and commands and max offers, they will almost certainly find a way to keep him.
The Wiggins situation is also complex. Though the Warriors will meet with him this summer, I expect them to see how the next 12 months unfold before they sign him to another contract. It just makes sense. Given how valuable Wiggins was in the playoffs, he figures to ask for a max deal — a price point a team deep into the luxury tax would like to avoid.
By waiting, the Warriors give themselves more options. Perhaps Wiggins struggles and can be had next summer at a lower rate. Perhaps the Warriors decide they can’t keep both Wiggins and Poole, so they start looking into trade packages involving Wiggins.
Regardless of what happens with Poole and Wiggins this summer, I expect Golden State to see how Green and Thompson progress health-wise before signing them to deals that would keep them around into their late 30s. Fans don’t need to worry, though. Green and Thompson aren’t going anywhere.
@JerrySisco8:
Will Quinndary Weatherspoon get a guaranteed contract?
That situation is still in flux. The Warriors exercised a two-way offer to Weatherspoon, making him a restricted free agency.
It appears they are waiting to see if another team offers him a minimum deal. If someone does, the Warriors would have to decide whether to match it and put Weatherspoon on the 15-man roster.
Odds are that no team offers him a minimum, eventually forcing him back on a two-way contract. This is shrewd business on the Warriors’ part. By bringing Weatherspoon back on a two-way, they could pay him less and still play him a good amount in the regular season.
It’s also possible that Mac McClung, a training-camp invitee who excelled on the Warriors’ summer-league team, lands the second two-way deal. If that happens, Golden State might give Weatherspoon its 14th roster spot. Keep in mind: The Warriors are likely to enter the season with only 14 players on guaranteed deals so they can save some money.
Todd Ackerman, via email: Can you lay out the situation with the 14th spot and remaining two-way spot on the roster?
When news broke Wednesday that the Warriors were signing McClung to a non-guaranteed deal, I saw a lot of people tweeting that he would fill their 14th roster spot. Not so fast. McClung, like Gary Payton II a year ago, will be given a chance to compete for a guaranteed contract in training camp.
But nothing is for sure, and the Warriors will bring in a few other formidable players to go against McClung. That being said, I think McClung has an inside track on some sort of contract — whether that be a two-way or a guaranteed deal. The Warriors need a backup point guard, and McClung, a much-better facilitator than many realize, might be a more intriguing option than anyone available on a minimum.
It’s still possible the Warriors sign someone to a minimum before training camp, but I think they already would have if there was anyone out there who really piqued their interest. Odds are the 14th spot goes to McClung or Weatherspoon. If McClung gets a guaranteed deal and Weatherspoon lands elsewhere, it’s anyone’s guess who would get the Warriors’ second two-way deal.
One popular name is Gui Santos, Golden State’s late-second-round pick who showed some promise at summer league. But I think the Warriors would prefer someone more NBA-ready on their two-way contract. If they have it their way, Santos will spend next season with Santa Cruz while the big club retains his draft rights.
The big X-factor to all of this is Andre Iguodala, who has yet to tell the Warriors whether he’ll be back next season. My understanding is that, if he decides not to retire this summer, Golden State would welcome him back on another minimum.
His leadership abilities are worth the price, even if he seldom plays. If Iguodala comes back, McClung’s chances of finding a spot with the Warriors drop significantly.
Still, I can’t help but think Iguodala will retire. Call it a hunch.
Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cletourneau@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @Con_Chron