When it became apparent that the Minnesota Timberwolves were going to trade Kevin Love, many teams emerged as likely destinations. Most of the teams were contenders looking to add a superstar that would make them championship favorites. One such team was the Golden State Warriors.
Eventually, however, it became apparent that Love would not end up with Golden State because the Warriors were refusing to include young shooting guard Klay Thompson as part of the deal. The reactions were mixed, but most were along the lines of "Golden State is being ridiculous."
As the midway point of the season approaches, the Warriors have the best record in the NBA, the Cavaliers are struggling around .500, and Thompson is making the front office look very smart for keeping him around. Not only has he continued his development as a player, but he is actually outplaying Kevin Love so far this season.
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According to ESPN, Thompson has improved as a shooter, passer, and ball handler this season and he has continued to exhibit excellent defensive instincts. He already has nearly as many win shares this season as he did all of last year.
As for the Thompson-Love comparisons, Thompson is averaging 23.8 points per 36 minutes compared to Love's 17.7. Thompson also has a player efficiency rating (PER) of 20.58, where as Love's PER is only 19.22.
Some will undoubtedly say that Love has not played his best basketball and that his peak numbers are in fact better than what Thompson is doing, and they may be correct. However, Thompson has clearly shown this season that he can play at a near-elite level, and he has not even entered his prime yet.
When you factor in that Thompson also plays shooting guard, which is the scarcest position in the NBA, it certainly seems that hindsight has proven that the Warriors made the right decision by refusing to trade Thompson to get Love.
Below, you can see highlights from when Thompson shredded the Pacers a few days ago.
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