After 13 seasons and four championship rings, Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors are expected to part ways.
According to The Athletic, Thompson and the Warriors haven’t communicated in the two weeks that teams have been allowed to negotiate with their own players. Golden State reportedly prioritized other business, like its failed pursuit of Paul George and Chris Paul’s non-guaranteed deal for next year over re-signing Thompson. As a result, Thompson believes “that the Warriors’ interest in a reunion has been disingenuous.”
Thompson won titles in 2015, 2017-18 and 2022 with the Warriors, signing a five-year year deal worth almost $190M after tearing his ACL in the team’s 2019 NBA Finals loss. He then tore his Achilles, missing the first two-and-a-half years of his deal before returning to help the team to a title.
His last two seasons were up and down, with Thompson briefly losing his starting spot to rookie Brandin Podziemski. Thompson still led the NBA with 301 three-pointers in the 2023-24 season and was fourth last year, playing in 77 of 82 games. But he turned down a reported two-year $48M extension last summer, perhaps since it was far less than longtime teammate Draymond Green’s four-year deal for $100M.
Thompson is rumored to be interested in three Western Conference teams, seemingly designed to sting his old team: the Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers and Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers might be considered the leading candidate, especially since Thompson’s father, Mychal, is the team’s radio color commentator.
Golden State is apparently willing to find a sign-and-trade deal to help Thompson get paid since all three of those teams won’t have the full mid-level exception available — unless LeBron James takes a hefty pay cut.
Regardless of where he goes, it’s the end of an era in San Francisco. The trio of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Thompson have won over 500 games together, including 98 in the playoffs. Now after 13 seasons, the “Splash Brothers” are expected to finally split up.
