When the entire NBA fraternity expected Klay Thompson to end his career with the Warriors, the 4x champion shocked the world with his move to the Mavericks. Former Warriors coach Mark Jackson elaborated on this move while claiming it was ‘unfortunate’ that the 2016 3-point contest winner couldn’t find common ground with the team that drafted him.
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When Jackson appeared on Sway’s Universe, with a hint of sadness in his voice, proclaimed, “I think in an ideal world Klay Thompson finishes his career with the Golden State Warriors,” before claiming that loyalty was a one-way street. He clarified by saying he wasn’t trying to call out the Warriors’ management, but that was the unfortunate truth of the NBA.
Jackson who laid the foundation for the Dubs‘ dynasty by assembling the team that dominated the NBA in the mid-2010s, was unceremoniously fired from ESPN last year, and his statement about loyalty probably alludes to his situation with the sports broadcasting giants.
“Unfortunately, he didn’t end his career with the Golden State Warriors, that’s not the way the world works.”
However, Jackson wasn’t the only one struggling to come to terms with Thompson’s departure. Steph Curry, Klay’s partner in crime, and Steve Kerr, the duo’s coach since 2014, sat down with Malika Andrews to discuss how different next season would be without him.
Curry and Kerr speak on Thompson’s departure
In a pre-Olympic interview, Curry and Kerr were asked how the coming season would be different without Thompson. Curry, who has played with Thompson every season since the latter was drafted, answered first. The 2x MVP sighed and said,
“We would’ve loved to maintain the core and finish out together but we obviously understand the league and things change.”
By core, he meant the trio of him, Thompson, and Draymond Green, who have been there for all 4 of the Dubs’ championships in the past decade. He revealed that he never imagined the team would be in a scenario where they’d start a season without his running mate.
“It does suck losing Klay, there’s no two ways about it.”
However, Kerr had a different approach to handling Thompson’s departure. He said that as a team they had their first home game against the Mavericks circled on their calendars, claiming it would be “one of the strangest most emotional nights of all our careers”.
Despite the breakdown of the relationship between the player and management, it’s obvious that his teammates have an immense love for Klay, and this new reality is as shocking to them as it is to the fans.
