Thunder expected to pursue 5x All-Star, 4x NBA Champion in free agency: Report

For the OKC Thunder, the offseason goal is rather straightforward: Find ways to strengthen their odds of contending for a championship in 2024-25.

After becoming the youngest team in league history to not only clinch a number one seed in a conference standings but also to win a postseason series, Oklahoma City is looking to take the next step in their trajectory and officially thrust themselves into the legitimate title contender category.

However, as made quite evident by their semifinal send off against the Dallas Mavericks, there seems to be three things, in particular, Sam Presti and company should be hell-bent on adding to their rotation before officially entering such an illustrious conversation: Size, three-point snipers, and players with experience succeeding under the bright lights of the NBA postseason.

While the former attribute in adding bigger bodies has without question been the most buzzed-about talking point regarding the Thunder's offseason agenda, finding ways to bring on the latter two are arguably equally as important, and, per a recent report by Heavy.com's Sean Deveney, the front office is expected to address them both by pursuing impending free agent, Klay Thompson.

Thunder expected to pursue Klay Thompson in free agency this summer

Per his sources, the NBA Insider has received intel that while Golden State is believed to be interested in re-signing their long-tenured 3-and-D savant, considering the club already has $174 million in salary commitments, finding a deal that makes sense for both parties fically could prove to be a challenge.

As a result, Thompson could be persuaded to jump ship if offered a large sum of money with an outbound offer, and the Thunder are believed to be one of a few clubs that could do just that.

"The Warriors hope to keep Thompson while also getting themselves underneath the league’s luxury tax limit, a pair of goals that could both be achievable if Thompson’s salary does not come in too high.

Thompson is expected to draw interest from teams with cap space to spend, most notably the Magic, Thunder and Sixers."

- Sean Deveney

Throughout his 13-year career, Thompson has proven himself to be a tremendous two-way wing as well as one of the greatest long-range marksmen in the game's history.

On top of his career averages of 19.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists on 41.3 percent shooting from deep, the veteran has achieved many accolades including being named to five All-Star teams, two All-NBA squads, an All-Defensive team, and has directly aided in the Warriors winning four NBA Championships and appearing in six NBA Finals during his tenure.

This past season was considered somewhat of a "down" year compared to previous campaigns, yet the 34-year-old still managed to post impressive averages of 17.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists while shooting 38.7 percent from deep.

Someone of this type of pedigree becoming available on the open market is not something that happens all too frequently, and his expertise could prove to be of great value to an incredibly talented, albeit rather inexperienced championship-hopeful team like the Thunder.

With their roughly $35.3 million in spending power this offseason, Oklahoma City should strongly consider pursuing the likes of the future Hall of Famer, Klay Thompson.

According to Deveney and his sources, it appears they already are.