Report: There’s ‘Mutual Interest’ Between The Magic And Klay Thompson

The Orlando Magic saw their season come to an end on Sunday in Cleveland. Despite going up by as many as 18 points on the road, the Magic were unable to prevent Donovan Mitchell from going off in what ended up being a 106-94 Cavs victory. The big problem for Orlando, as it’s been for basically the last decade, was an inability to hit shots, as the team went 29-for-86 (33.7 percent) from the field and 10-for-31 (32.1 percent) from deep.

Now, the Magic will enter a summer where they’re positioned to bolster their roster due to their ample cap space. And according to Shams Charania, one of the names that’s high on the team’s list is Golden State sharpshooter Klay Thompson.

“You look at the point guard position, but also, shooting and scoring on the wing, and one name to keep an eye on: Klay Thompson,” Charania said. “I’m told there is mutual interest between the Magic and Klay Thompson. Thompson, along with several other vets around the league, are looking at the Magic as a situation where, you plug in a guy like Klay Thompson, you plug in another veteran player — whether it be at the point guard position, shooting guard posiiton — this team can make a real jump around Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.”

While Thompson has spent his entire career with the Warriors, he’s slated to hit free agency this summer. His future with the team was under the spotlight all year, as the two sides were unable to come to terms on an extension, while Steph Curry made it a point to express to the media in the aftermath of the team’s Play-In Tournament loss to the Sacramento Kings that he wanted Thompson back.

It remains to be seen just how legitimate Thompson’s interest in going to Orlando is, but if this is not just an attempt to gain some leverage in contract talks with Golden State, he’d make a ton of sense on a team that is crying out for someone who can provide some juice on the offensive end of the floor. While he had his ups and downs this season, Thompson still averaged 17.9 points per game and shot 38.7 percent from three on nine attempts per game. The Magic, meanwhile, were 22nd in the league in offensive rating, 30th in threes made per game, 29th in threes attempted per game, and 24th in three-point field goal percentage. If the team is going to add a veteran with the intent of adding some juice to their offense in the free agent market, Thompson makes as much sense as anyone.