Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson underwent surgery in Los Angeles Wednesday to repair his torn right Achilles, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who says the five-time All-Star is expected to make a full recovery (Twitter
links).
After missing the entire 2019-20 season while recovering from a torn left ACL, Thompson was on track to return for opening night next month but then tore his Achilles last week during a workout in Southern California. As a result, he’ll be sidelined for his second consecutive full season and will go more than two years between NBA appearances.
The Warriors acquired Kelly Oubre in a trade with the Thunder and added Kent Bazemore in free agency in an effort to replenish their depth on the wing in the wake of Thompson’s devastating season-ending injury.
The team also applied for a disabled player exception in response to Thompson’s injury. Assuming it’s approved, which it should be, the exception would be worth approximately $9.3M and would allow the team to acquire a player without using cap room.
A disabled player exception can be used to sign a free agent, to acquire a player in a trade or to claim a player off waivers, but it can only be used on one player. Additionally, it can only be used to sign a player to a one-year deal — or to trade for or claim a player in the final year of his contract.