When Klay Thompson was with the Golden State Warriors, they were one of the toughest teams to play against. The four championships they won together were proof that they were one of the best teams in the NBA. Together with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, the Warriors ruled the Western Conference for some time.
During that time, Paul George developed into an All-Star. His two-way play was something that was a problem for most swingmen around the league. George was the face of the Indiana Pacers before he moved to the West and joined Russell Westbrook with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Former NBA player Patrick Beverley talked a bout a hypothetical trade that could’ve improved the Warriors. During a recent episode of the “Pat Bev Podcast,” the former guard said that Golden State could’ve won more than four championships if they traded Thompson for George.
The two players are slightly similar. They can both knock down shots very well and can defend the opposing team’s best player. The only difference is that George is more athletic. Thompson, on the other hand, relies more on his outside shooting.
“If you put Paul George in that role playing as Klay Thompson, playing with [Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala] at a point — obviously we know Paul George a couple years ago, was in the MVP race,” Beverley said.
Whose career would you rather have? pic.twitter.com/vxMXRxqP3b
— Pat Bev Pod (@PatBevPod) August 23, 2025
“If you substitute those two, and we don’t know, we’re just going off what we think in basketball, I think that Golden State probably wins more championships.”
No one knows if that would’ve worked out well for the Golden State Warriors. But Thompson’s outside shooting complemented Curry’s stardom very well, and it’s hard to think about the Warriors’ four titles without the 6-foot-6 guard’s contributions.
NBA insider questions the Golden State Warriors’ desire to help Stephen Curry
At this stage of Stephen Curry’s career, he still wants to contend for a championship. It wasn’t long since he carried the Golden State Warriors to win his fourth NBA title. However, a lot has changed. Thompson is no longer part of the team and Kevon Looney left the team this summer to play for the New Orleans Pelicans. Additionally, Jimmy Butler is now part of the team.
This offseason, the Warriors have not made significant changes to help their franchise star keep contending for titles. NBA insider Kevin O’Connor talked about how the Warriors aren’t going all in for Curry.
“On one hand, are you actually going all in? Or not in the situation? Cause it took you a while to go get Jimmy Butler,” he said.
Curry doesn’t have enough time left in the NBA as he’s already 37.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
