Klay Thompson has left the Golden State Warriors after 13 years with the franchise. He won four championships in the Bay Area. He has now joined the Dallas Mavericks via a three-team sign-and-trade on a three-year contract worth $50 million.
Golden State had reportedly dragged its feet on opening contract negotiations with Thompson. Instead, it shifted its focus to attempting to pry Paul George from the LA Clippers via a sign-and-trade. George chose to opt out of his player option and join the Philadelphia 76ers. With Golden State clearly having Thompson low down on its list of priorities, the veteran sharpshooter had made up his mind to leave the franchise “weeks ago.”
“There was little communication between Thompson, the Warriors and Thompson’s agent, Greg Lawrence, and ultimately no offer in this cycle,” Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported. “Warriors sources maintained a plan to eventually make a competitive offer in relation to his market once other business was settled. But they never had the chance. Many league sources said Thompson’s decision to depart was unofficially made weeks ago.”
Thompson reportedly asked Steph Curry not to intervene in contract negotiations, either. Clearly, he wanted to see if the front office intended to keep him around based on merit rather than Curry’s wishes.
Golden State may need to adjust its play style without Thompson on the roster. Curry won’t have another floor-spacer to draw the defense’s attention the way Thompson did. As such, Steve Kerr may need to tweak his system to get the best out of his new-look team without the second splash brother.
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