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Daily Gossip, Sunday 26/10/14

After the customary day off, we find that the buzz around the association is intensifying ahead of the new NBA season. 

KLAY THOMPSON FRUSTRATED WITH WARRIORS 

Klay Thompson wants a maximum contract extension with the Golden State Warriors. 

Trouble is, the Warriors are reluctant to give him that kind of contract. Should the Dub Nation be nervous? 

Via Yahoo!: 

Klay Thompson’s camp is frustrated that the Golden State Warriors haven’t offered a maximum contract in their ongoing extension talks with Friday’s deadline nearing, sources told Yahoo Sports. 

Thompson is seeking a maximum deal paying upward of $15 million per season, a source said. The Warriors have improved their offer to get in the vicinity but have not offered a full maximum contract, sources said.  

If Thompson and the Warriors do not come to terms on an extension by the Halloween deadline, he will be a restricted free agent next summer. 

TRISTAN THOMPSON GETTING SIMILAR DEAL IN CLEVELAND 

Cleveland Cavaliers big man Tristan Thompson is reportedly suffering the same fate as well. Only with the October 31 deadline looming, there have been no conversations. 

Zero. 

Via Cleveland Plain Dealer:

The deadline for the Cavaliers and Thompson to agree to a rookie-scale extension is Friday. That’s less than a week away and a source close to the situation says, “There has been zero discussion on an extension” between the two sides. 

It’s no secret Thompson’s agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, also represents the one guy responsible for the bright lights returning to Quicken Loans Arena with the Cavaliers boasting a league-high 29 national televised games. 

If a deal is not reached by the deadline, Thompson will become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2015. Cleveland would then retain the right to match an offer sheet to Thompson, and the Cavs could also attempt to sign him themselves at that time. 

However, with a big increase in the salary cap coming for next year, it is unlikely that the value of the double-double-producing power forward will decrease. 

If he does hit restricted free agency, competitors will surely attempt to snatch Thompson away from this title-contending Cavaliers team. Allowing it to go this far is dicey business. 

POP: THE SPURS DON’T LOOK INTERESTED 

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich started his pre-season with a loss in Germany to Alba Berlin. Since then, things have not improved. 

The NBA champions concluded their pre-season with a 96-87 win over the Houston Rockets but Popovich was still unhappy. 

Via the San Antonio Express-News (spot the error in their article): 

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich pulled no punches after his team completed a lackluster preseason in Houston, where the Rockets led by as many as 18 points before settling for a 96-87 victory Friday at the Toyota Center.
 
“We look very poor,” he said. “We look like we’re not very interested.” 

The Spurs will have 82 games to sort things out starting on Tuesday with their season opener against Dallas, before which they will receive their championship rings and raise banner No. 5 at the AT&T Center. They’ve typically played well in such circumstances under Popovich. But after finishing the exhibition slate with just two victories in seven games, and Kawhi Leonard, Tiago Splitter and Kawhi Leonard all ailing, the Spurs could be in for a bumpy start. 

LEBRON WISHED HE WAS A TEAM-MATE OF STEVE NASH 

I think any basketball player would agree to this. 

LeBron James wished he could have been a team-mate of the recently shelved Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Nash for a couple of years. Nash, who said this season would be his last is out for the season with back problems. 

Via Northeast Ohio Media Group: 

Following Sunday’s practice, James said it’s difficult to see such a great player go through such an injury-plagued finish to his career, but he wants Nash to know that he has nothing more to prove. 

“It’s tough,” James said. “You hate to see anyone have the game taken away because of an injury and especially a talent like that. Obviously he’s worked his tail off to try to be healthy and play for the franchise. Over his career, he’s always kept his body in shape. We all knew that, and for his body to fail him at a time where he feels he still has something to give to the game, it sucks. 

“At the same time, he has nothing to be ashamed of. He should be proud of every moment he had in this league. From him waiting behind, sitting on the bench behind J-Kidd [in Dallas] to finally getting his opportunity in Dallas and going back to Phoenix and having an unbelievable career with two MVPs and doing the things that he did.” 

[…] 

Nash solidified his place amongst the elite during his eight-year tenure with the Phoenix Suns, where he brought the desert version of “Showtime” to the league. His play helped shaped how offenses are run today. 

He was a back-to-back MVP winner in 2005 and 2006, and his team was a hip-check away from an NBA Finals appearance in 2007. James would have loved to be running the wing on one of Nash’s fast-breaks. 

“His run in Phoenix was unbelievable, man,” said James. “The way he played the game of basketball, I wish I could have been a teammate of his for a year or two. Being around a guy like that who is just all about team. He never asked for anything and everything was given to him. You can respect somebody like that.”

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