After 13 years with the Warriors, Klay Thompson is leaving. It will be for Dallas, without having had an offer from the Warriors to keep him. The last date of the preseason ($48 million over two years), but he had refused it. In a very long article, The Athletic reveals the behind the scenes of the discussions, and the divorce dates back five years! In fact, there were not even any negotiations because the boss Joe Lacob loves to play for time, and he believes that time is on his side. That’s how he had proceeded with Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green in the past. And that’s how he had decided to act with Klay Thompson and his agent.
The Athletic confirms that the two parties had not spoken for several weeks. On one side, a Klay Thompson determined to leave. On the other, Warriors who were playing for time. Between the two, Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr who hoped that everything would return to normal. During the end-of-year interview, Steve Kerr had warned Klay Thompson that he would play less, but that he would be a starter. A decision that Klay Thompson did not appreciate, since he was coming off a season of 77 matches with more than 30 minutes per game.
Stephen Curry’s Beautiful Farewell Message
And Stephen Curry in all this? Klay Thompson had asked him not to interfere. We imagine that Curry could convince Joe Lacob or Mike Dunleavy Jr. to make a nice offer to his “Splash Brother” and to weigh in with all his weight in the negotiations. But Klay Thompson had asked him not to do anything, and Stephen Curry did not budge. He respected the wishes of his teammate for 13 years, and Klay Thompson went to Dallas for $50 million over three years. Per year, it’s less than the Warriors’ offer at the start of the season, but he got that third year he wanted so much.
On Instagram, Stephen Curry posted a farewell message to him: “I’m gonna miss you Klay. Even though we don’t end up together, what we did will never be done again. I couldn’t have imagined a better journey than with you and Draymond. It changed the entire Bay Area. It changed the game of basketball. Killa Klay was at the center of it all. Thanks for everything bro. Go play basketball and do what you gotta do. Splash Brother for life.”
