It seems as though Jason Thompson's tenure in Philadelphia will end before he ever put on a Sixers uniform.
The Golden State Warriors announced the former Lenape High School alum in exchange for veteran swingman Gerald Wallace, cash, and draft considerations.
Keith Pompey is reporting that the consideration is the right for the Sixers to swap Miami's or Oklahoma City's first-round pick for the Warriors' 2016 first-round selection.
Thompson spent last year with the Sacramento Kings, and was acquired in early July along with Carl Landry and Nik Stauskas. He averaged 6.1 points and 6.5 rebounds in 24.6 minutes per game, and would have fought for playing time with several other big men in the Sixers rotation.
For the Warriors, the motivation seems to be more money driven than anything else, although Thompson does give the defending champions a little added depth.
Golden State will get considerable tax savings out of this deal. Could save upwards of $10m+ with salary differential + tax savings.
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) July 31, 2015
The 33-year-old Wallace played in just 32 games last year, and averaged just over 1 point per game. It's almost a guarantee he'll be cut by the Sixers, but he's due a guaranteed $10,105,855 for this season. This is the last year on a four-year, $40 million contract Wallace inked with the Brooklyn Nets in 2012. The money Golden State is sending should soften the blow of cutting him a little bit, although those numbers have yet to be reported.
There seems to be a couple reasons Philadelphia was enticed by this deal, although none look to be of any greatsubstance.
Thompson's deal was partially guaranteed for $2,625,000 in the 2016-17 season, so they'll save some money going into next year by trading him now. It also creates a little extra room in the front court for Philadelphia. The team just inked second-round pick Richaun Holmes to a four-year deal, and seems committed to getting him playing time this season.
If Philadelphia has a next move, it could involve Landry, whose future with the team seems up in the air right now.