Once the Finals end, the NBA turns into a very, very crazy league. Thanks to the shorter contracts brought on by the current collective bargaining agreement, nearly every summer sees big names come up for free agency. Of course, the insanity doesn’t end once the contracts are signed. Fans have an insatiable thirst for trade rumors, and there have been plenty of them swirling around one name for months: NBA.com. That number is more jarring when you remember that Thompson is a guard with far more ball-handling responsibilities than Love. Add in that Love’s point guard, nbawowy.com, we can look at just how much of an impact Curry has on Thompson’s game. As you can see, while his numbers certainly don’t fall off a cliff when he’s operating without Curry, Klay does take a dip in effectiveness without his Splash Brother while somehow seeing his number of assisted three-pointers rise. While Thompson is still an above average shooter without Curry, his true shooting and effective field goal percentages both dip to levels below what you’d expect for such a marksman.

Of course, Thompson’s importance to the Warriors goes beyond his shooting. Even though he shares the wing with lockdown specialist Andre Iguodala, Thompson often draws the task of guarding the opponent’s best perimeter player, which could play as big or more of a factor in Golden State's hesitation. Look no further than the Warrior’s first-round series with the Clippers, when Thompson spent long stretches guarding point god Chris Paul. A stingy defensive team to begin with, the Warriors were three points better per 100 possessions last season with Thompson on the floor (101.8 on, 104.8 off). Love is well-known for being a minus defender, but he’s also never truly played with a rim protector. If he gets sent to the Warriors, he’ll more than likely be playing there with Andrew Bogut as his frontcourt partner. That’ll help mask some of Love’s deficiencies.

Replacing Thompson’s production at the 2-guard slot won’t exactly be an easy task, but a guy who can score 18 points per game and play solid defense is a lot more common than what Kevin Love can do. The "3-and-D" player is definitely en vogue and sought after around the league. But Love is the only player in league history to ever average 26 points and 12 boards for a season while hitting as many threes, 190, as Love did last season. Knock the number of made threes down to 100 and you still find only one name on the list.

While Thompson is among the best in the league at what he does, the evidence doesn’t show that he’s an offense-carrying superstar just yet. The prospect of pairing one of the most dangerous power forwards in the league with the NBA’s premiere three-point threat should be too much for a team in win-now mode to pass up. The alternative is maxing out Thompson next summer and hoping their over-30 cogs, Iguodala and Bogut, can stay healthy enough to keep Golden State in the hunt.

Hopefully, the Warriors realize that before Love ends up in Ohio.