LAS VEGAS — Unless the Warriors land an All-Star caliber player, this summer will be remembered as the offseason Klay Thompson left.
After a pair of difficult seasons, Thompson decided to seek a fresh start and joined with Dallas Mavericks. For the defending Western Conference champions, Thompson will space the floor around Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in a new role and a new city.
“I’m very grateful for my time at Golden State,” Thompson said at his introductory press conference in Dallas. “But I just felt like moving on can just reenergize me and do something special for the rest of my career…Sometimes breakups are necessary.”
It was noteworthy that Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. began his meeting with local media at Summer League with an ode to Thompson.
“Can’t reiterate enough what an unbelievable career he had for us,” Dunleavy said. “So much he’s given to the Bay Area, to the organization. What else can you say? Just an unbelievable run. It’s sad. We’ll miss him. But life goes on. I think he’s in a good spot. There was really good, solid communication throughout the whole process. He expressed his interest in a fresh start. Working with him and obviously Dallas to make that happen, I think it benefitted both sides.”
The breakup came after 13 seasons and four NBA championships. Specifics of it are somewhat murky. The Athletic reported that Thompson and his camp sent contract proposals this summer that didn’t get countered. Before the season, Thompson reportedly rejected a two-year, $48 million extension that proved to be above-market.
Steve Kerr and the Warriors brought Thompson off the bench for much of the second half of last season and postured that a reserve role would be the status quo for Thompson if he returned. For the Mavericks, Thompson is likely to start.
The Warriors sent Thompson to Dallas in a six-team trade — the first of its kind. In return the Warriors added Kyle Andreson and Buddy Hield. Chris Paul’s non-guaranteed contract also gave them the cap flexibility to acquire De’Anthony Melton.
Dunleavy said he’s excited about the current group, but will continue to look to improve.
Still, life without Thompson will certainly be different.
“Nothing lasts forever,” Dunleavy said. “But I think it ended well, and wish him luck in the next chapter of his career. He’ll always be a Warrior. Go into the Hall of Fame as a Warrior. Number retired, statue, all that stuff.”
The final moment of Thompson in a Warriors uniform is his 0-for-10 scoreless performance in the play-in loss to Sacramento.
Curry, Draymond Green and Steve Kerr each publicly expressed their desires for Thompson to return and retire as a Warrior last season. For one reason or another, it didn’t come to pass.
“I think everybody was understanding in terms of what Klay wanted out of things,” Dunleavy said. “This whole thing was incredibly amicable. I know people want to make a big deal out of it because Klay was here 13 years and a legend in his own right. So many championships and all that. How things end can be tough. But the situation, like I said, was pretty reasonable. Pretty mature conversations, and everybody’s ended up in a good place. I think I feel good with where we’re at. At the same time, there’s some nostalgia with Klay being gone. Kind of sad, he’ll be missed. But like I said, it doesn’t last forever.”
