Klay Thompson‘s exit from the Golden State Warriors was an exhausting ordeal for the player and the franchise. Speculation about the four-time NBA champion’s future was rife throughout the 2023-24 season, with neither he nor the team giving a definitive answer about whether he would sign an extension with the franchise or leave in free agency. However, per Kendra Andrews, the writing was on the wall about Thompson’s exit since January.
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During an appearance on Sirius XM, the ESPN reporter revealed that the guard was growing weary of the Warriors’ refusal to offer him a sizeable extension, while the franchise was severely concerned about his poor form, causing a strain on their relationship. She said,
“Conversations haven’t progressed since last summer, six months and nothing has happened. After the Warriors season ended, the playoffs were still happening, May into June, again those conversations weren’t progressing. It was really sinking in that it probably isn’t going to happen, he is going to leave.”
“Those conversations weren’t progressing…it was really sinking in, okay, this probably isn’t going to happen”
ESPN reporter @kendra__andrews walks through the Klay Thompson-Warriors ending to @thefrankisola, @darthamin, and Ryan McDonough at #NBA2KSummerLeague. pic.twitter.com/5bk2UFcYqV
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 13, 2024
The Warriors last offered Thompson a two-year, $43 million deal in the 2023 offseason. The guard declined and reports suggested that he felt he was worthy of receiving a contract in the same range as Draymond Green’s four-year, $100 million extension. He bet on himself to play without signing a new deal and earn the contract offer he believed he deserved.
However, his plan backfired, as his form slumped to an all-time low. The Warriors even benched him for rookie Brandin Podziemski, signaling the end of Thompson’s dream of signing an eight-figure contract in the 2024 offseason. After not receiving a viable offer from the Warriors, the guard signed a three-year, $50 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks, ending his 13-year stint with the franchise that drafted him, much to Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr’s dismay.
Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr distraught about Klay Thompson’s exit
In an interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews, Curry and Kerr confessed that seeing Thompson play for another team was difficult to digest. Curry claimed he expected retirement would end their partnership and not a contract dispute. He said,
“We would have loved to maintain the core and finish out together…Having Klay head on to Dallas, it’s tough, it’s something I never imagined would be a reality.”
Kerr claimed that not having Thompson around would be an unfamiliar experience and his return to the Chase Center as an opponent would be surreal. He said,
“When the season starts next year, it’s going to be really weird. I know we’re all going to have the date circled when he comes back to Chase, and that will be one of the strangest, emotional nights of all our careers for sure.”
Thompson, Curry, Kerr, and Draymond Green were the only constants in the Warriors’ eight-year dynasty that yielded four titles. His exit marked the end of an era and it’ll take a while before everyone involved adjusts to their new reality.
