Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors have parted ways after 13 years together. The guard is signing a three-year, $50 million contract with the reigning Western Conference champions, looking to help them go one step further next season. Thompson’s departure had been on the cards for quite some time, but the deal he signed with Mavericks surprised many.
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Per NBA insider Shams Charania, the Warriors offered the veteran guard a two-year, $48 million contract extension before the start of the 2023-24 season. Thompson declined it and entered a contract year aiming to showcase that the franchise’s contract offer was insulting. He even told Richard Jefferson explicitly that he expected the Warriors to loosen their pockets more, given his invaluable role in the team’s enviable success over the past decade. The retired star revealed,
“Getting off the elevator, Christmas day… of this past year. I get off the elevator, and I see Klay. ‘Klay, what’s up?!’. He said, ‘What’s up, man?’. I’m like, ‘Hey man, keep your mentals right’. He’s like, ‘Man, tell ’em to pay me my money!’. This was on Christmas day!”
Thompson expected the Warriors to hand him an extension offer in the same range as Draymond Green’s four-year, $100 million deal. However, the offer did not come through and he bet on himself to have a stellar season and prove the franchise wrong. But his decision to turn down the Warriors’ $48 million offer proved to be a massive mistake.
He wound up having one of the worst seasons of his career as his scoring average dipped below 20 points per game for the first time in a decade. The 34-year-old’s uninspiring form prompted the Warriors to bench him for rookie Brandin Podziemski midway through the season.
They took their offer off the table and Thompson had no choice but to look elsewhere for a new lucrative deal. He signed a $16.7 million-a-year deal with the Mavericks, $7.3 million less annually than the Warriors’ offer before the season commenced.
The deal he signed with Dallas pays him less yearly on paper than Golden State’s $48 million offer. However, Texas has no state income tax, whereas California levies a 12.3% tariff on pay slips as massive as the guard’s contract.
Another reason Thompson swapped the Warriors for the Mavericks is his quest for a fifth NBA title. Per his agent Greg Lawrence, the veteran turned down bigger contract offers to team up with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving and help bring another championship to Dallas.
The guard is embarking on a new chapter late in his career, but one that not many envisioned. Thompson should’ve ideally retired as a Warrior, and still could. However, this unexpected detour in his career has slightly soured the legacy of the Splash Brothers and the Warriors dynasty that won four NBA titles in eight seasons.
