Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors have until Oct. 31 to reach a new contract extension. Faliure to reach a deal would lead to Thompson becoming a restricted free agent in 2015, a scenario he and his agent prefer to avoid.

Bill Duffy is widely known to be demanding a maximum deal for Thompson and sees the shooting guard as the best two-guard in the NBA.

"I don't want (Los Angeles Lakers star) Kobe Bryant to go crazy, but there's some uncertainty as to who he is right now (because of injuries that limited him to six games last season)," Duffy said. "But I think Klay Thompson right now is the top two-way, two-guard in basketball. I think when you look at his body of work, when you look at what he accomplished guarding point guards on a regular basis (last season), I think it's pretty clear."

Thompson last season posted career highs in points (18.4 per game), field-goal percentage (44.4%) and three-point percentage (41.7%), and he typically guarded the opposing team's best perimeter player. Thompson followed the NBA season by averaging 12.7 points per game for Team USA.

Joe Lacob did not discuss a possible extension for Thompson but made it clear that he is seen as a major priority.

"We love Klay," Lacob said in an e-mail. "He is clearly an integral part of our team and our future. I remember sitting courtside at Stanford Pac-12 games watching Klay at (Washington State) for three years. I thought he could be a prototype big shooting guard in the NBA and we targeted him in the draft and were ecstatic to be able to draft him at (No.) 11 in the first round.

"We traded an excellent guard freeing up a starting spot for him and, as is known, despite many requests from other teams over the last few years, we have continued to bet on his continued development. We are very proud that he is a Warrior and also of his major contribution on this year's USA Basketball team. We are looking forward to a great year for Klay, the Splash Brothers and the Warriors."