The rumors have been circulating for months now and it finally happened. Klay Thompson has left the Warriors for the Mavericks in free agency.
ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski broke down the finer details of the trade.
“The deal, negotiated by his agent, Greg Lawrence of Wasserman, required a multiteam sign-and-trade that sends Mavericks guard/forward Josh Green to the Charlotte Hornets and two second-round picks to the Warriors. Dallas is sending its own 2031 second-round pick in the deal, a source said.”
If Klay Thompson had been a Maverick in this year’s Finals, Dallas would’ve beaten Boston. His big-game, big-stage catch-and-shoot experience and all-timeness would’ve made a difference Tim Hardaway Jr. no longer could. If only Jerry Jones could make a move like this.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) July 1, 2024
The Lakers were also frontrunners to land the four-time champion and LeBron James reportedly even took a paycut in his new deal with LA, so the franchise could sign a player like Klay.
But the Dubs guard decided to sign with the Mavs instead.
There were a number of factors that influenced Thompson’s decision, but the main reason is about winning another chip.
“Thompson’s deal was largely inspired by the chance to compete for a fifth title with the Western Conference champion Mavericks,” Wojnarowski said.
“…The Lakers were extremely intriguing to Thompson, but the financial savings from living in Texas over California and the fact that the Mavericks came within three victories of an NBA championship were big factors in his decision, sources said.”
The 34-year-old was becoming increasingly unhappy and frustrated with his role, as well as the contract discussions being had in recent months with the Warriors.
Even if Thompson made the decision to return to Golden State, he would have been coming off the bench in favor of 21-year-old Brandin Podziemski, Yahoo Sports‘ Jake Fischer reports.
“If Thompson had returned to Golden State, the Warriors planned to bring Thompson off the bench behind sophomore guard Brandin Podziemski, sources said, after Golden State started its prized rookie for a good stretch during the second half of last season,” Fischer said.