NBA rumors: Expect Klay Thompson to Clippers if Warriors don't offer max

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Programming note: Watch the pregame edition of Warriors Outsiders on Monday night at 5, streaming live on the MyTeams app.

The Warriors are gearing up for Game 4 of their second-round NBA playoff series against the Rockets on Monday night.

But on Monday morning, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski provided an update on how NBA free agency might impact the Dubs in two months.

Klay Thompson -- who repeatedly has said that he wants to stay with Golden State long term -- will become an unrestricted free agent at 9:01 p.m. PT on Sunday, June 30. And if the Warriors want him to re-sign, there is one thing they need to do.

"If they come with a five-year, $190 million max deal for Klay Thompson, that's done on July 1 -- he's going into the new building with Steph Curry," Woj said on Get Up! "If they try to do anything less than that, you can expect Klay Thompson to be out in free agency.

"Watch not for the Lakers, then, but the Clippers."

The new piece of information here is that the five-time All-Star would turn his sights to the Clippers over the Lakers.

Klay's father, Mychal, is the Lakers' radio analyst and he won two NBA championships playing alongside Magic Johnson and Co. in 1987 and 1988.

But there is a lot of turmoil within that organization, and things are very much unsettled (they don't even have a coach right now).

The Clippers, meanwhile, are in position for sustained success, and they employ Jerry West. Don't forget that The Logo was instrumental in preventing Golden State from trading Klay to Minnesota for Kevin Love years back.

If you're a Warriors fan and you're concerned that the franchise isn't going to give Klay the max, you should remain calm.

Back in mid-October, ESPN's Zach Lowe reported that "Thompson has no plans to take a discount, and the Warriors don't expect him to, league sources say." This would seem to indicate the Warriors are prepared to to give him the most money possible.

[RELATEDKlay's father: No need to negotiate; 'everybody knows' the deal]

And speaking of money, Warriors owner Joe Lacob told Tim Kawakami of The Athletic in early February: "We can do whatever we want [financially]. And you should expect that that’s not going to be a reason this team … doesn’t stay great going forward. We have the capital to pay our players what they deserve. And we will ... nobody's going to outspend us."

Do you feel better?

Good.

Now go be stressed about Game 4 in Houston.

Follow @DrewShiller on Twitter and Instagram

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