Klay Thompson leaving the Golden State Warriors hurt many of their fans but turned out, he was going through a more painful time before he made the decision. According to his former teammate Draymond Green, Thompson was not feeling like his usual self anymore, leading to his decision to leave them and join the Dallas Mavericks in 2024.
Thompson played 13 years for the Dubs and together with Green and Stephen Curry won four titles. They became a dynasty but just like any reigns, theirs has come to an end. Unfortunately for him and no thanks to various injuries, he felt he was the one who does not fit anymore in the team’s quest to win another title.
Green sat down with Rich Kleiman of the Boardroom in a podcast and there, he vividly recalled the time when Thompson informed him about his decision to leave. The 2017 Defensive Player of the Year said his former teammate was not in a great place during the build up to the decision.
“Now, here’s where you put the business side, and the personal also comes into play,” Draymons said.
“When he called, I could see the pain he was in. You know, the last year he was here, it wasn’t Klay. Like, he didn’t have his same joy.. You know, he didn’t have everything that made Klay, Klay. He didn’t have it.”
This is an interesting story from Green as it appeared that they did not like Thompson’s move before the start of the 2024-25 season.
Draymond Green did not convince Klay to stay
Thompson staying would have been the logical thing to do. He accomplished so much as a Warrior and it is only right that he retire with the team where his legend was created.
That’s not what came to Green’s mind at that moment. He understood the feelings his teammate and friend was having and so, he decided against asking him to stay.
“And that’s what I had to do in that situation. Like the absolute wrong thing to do would have been to try to talk him into staying. Because the reality is, he didn’t need to,” he continued.
“He needed to go. Because he needed that to feel like Klay Thompson again. And the most important thing for me as his brother is for him to feel like Klay Thompson.”
Thompson moved to Dallas for a chance to win another title. However, his plan has been derailed as team superstar Luka Doncic was shockingly traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.
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