The message at the Warriors is clear – they want Klay back and General Manager Mike Dunleavy is the latest member of the organization to say so.
After a nightmare end to the season, Klay is set to enter unrestricted free agency over the summer.
But his teammates Steph Curry, Draymond Green, coach Steve Kerr and now Dunleavy have all expressed their desire to re-sign the four-time champion.
“Well, considering they won four [championships] before, I would say it’s well within the realm of reasonability,” Dunleavy said Thursday. “But we got to, you know, certainly we want Klay back, first and foremost. I expressed that to him yesterday. Our players have expressed that, our coach, front office, ownership.
“Look, everybody wants Klay back.”
Dunleavy went on to say that he feels optimistic about keeping Klay in The Bay.
“I think it’s a mutual feeling,” Dunleavy said. “The guy has been here a long time. He means so much to the organization. We really, really value him. So, there’s nothing that would make me think he wants to go somewhere else, or we don’t want him back. For that reason, I’m hopeful we can make it happen.”
“But it’s a deal. Both sides got to be good with it. And we’ll work through that.”
Kerr said Thursday, “There’s a lot of value in our three guys being Warriors for life. There’s a lot of value in ending with dignity.”
Following a rollercoaster season, the Warriors were lucky to even make it to the Play-In.
They flamed out 118-94 against recent rivals Sacramento and Dunleavy says its a good opportunity for the team to rise from the ashes.
“I think the overarching emotion right now is disappointment. We’re still sort of settling in on what happened,” Dunleavy said Thursday. “But on the whole, we knew this season no matter how long it went along, was going to end at some point probably disappointing us and so not a shocking surprise. But I think as far as what we need to do, it’s pretty straightforward. It’s to get better. I think that presents a really good challenge for everybody.”