Klay was firm on leaving & asked Steph to not intervene:
It’s been a layered five-year path to this divorce, splintering last season, sprouting earlier and finalizing in the last couple weeks, where —among the conversations Thompson had, league sources said — was a request of Stephen Curry not to exert his significant organizational influence and up the temperature with management to ensure Thompson’s return. Curry’s measured voice, even if it altered the outcome, wouldn’t change the genuineness of Joe Lacob and the front office’s true desire to have Thompson back.
Recap of the Benching Incidents that Upset Klay this past season:
During an early December game in Phoenix — the same night Green nailed Jusuf Nurkić and earned an indefinite suspension — Thompson was pulled from the closing lineup for the first time in his career. In a fit of rage after learning the decision, Thompson whacked a cup rack behind the bench to the ground and needed to be pulled back by Curry as he lit up the coaching staff in the huddle.
In Salt Lake City when Kerr, on the second night of a back-to-back, informed Thompson he’d be moving to the bench. He’d occupied the Warriors’ starting shooting guard spot for more than a decade, 727 consecutive games when healthy. It was an identity more than just a title. That news didn’t land softly. Thompson ripped into Kerr and his staff, team sources said, and spent some of that day grumbling about his inevitable summer departure from the franchise. His impending free agency loomed in the background all season.
Kerr made some sensitive coaching decisions last season that, in retrospect, played a part in nudging Thompson out the door. In Kerr’s exit interview, he mentioned the desire to bring Thompson off the bench again (he won his starting job back by the end of the season) and the need to play him less in general
Warriors Hoped the version of "self-reflective" Klay would lead him back to them:
Thompson and Kerr sat down for several heart-to-hearts over the last few seasons. Thompson detailed a few publicly, thanking Kerr for reminding him he needed to enjoy the final years of a historic career and not anguish over a chase to reclaim what he once was prior to the injuries.
That version of Thompson is the reason so many within the Warriors expected him to circle back around in recent weeks, have all the necessary reconciliation conversations and ultimately decide on a reunion. He’s deeply proud of what he helped build and went into detail about his desire to remain with the Warriors forever prior to last season
Joe Lacob & Warriors FO's Big Mistake: Treating & Negotiating with Klay like he was like Steph, Kerr, Bob, Andre, & Draymond:
Controlling owner Joe Lacob led a front-office effort to take a cold, mostly uncommunicative approach to Thompson’s next contract in his three summers of extension eligibility, team sources said, which isn’t separate from their norm. Lacob has done similar in the past with Curry, Kerr, Bob Myers, Andre Iguodala and Green, using dwindling time as a weapon but ultimately paying up after a staring contest.
But Iguodala’s (in 2017) and Green’s (in 2023) are the two parallel situations that have popped up most in conversation about the split with Thompson that blindsided some Warriors’ executives in recent weeks. Iguodala and Green, both sharp and versed in the corporate world, used leverage to exact a better deal from the Warriors. Iguodala took his decision deep into free agency.
Thompson operates on his own wavelength. The Warriors’ decision-makers were warned that a drawn-out negotiation into July during this free-agent cycle wouldn’t be met the same way. He wasn’t trying to leverage his way back until the bitter end
But his decision, as one source put it, became easy when the Warriors kicked him down the summer pecking order. They paid a record luxury-tax bill last season and didn’t make the playoffs, a cost-versus-benefit that is untenable
There was little communication between Thompson, the Warriors and Thompson’s agent, Greg Lawrence, and ultimately no offer in this cycle. Warriors sources maintained a plan to eventually make a competitive offer in relation to his market once other business was settled. But they never had the chance. Many league sources said Thompson’s decision to depart was unofficially made weeks ago.
Warriors sources will mention the two-year, $48 million offer put on Thompson’s desk back in the preseason…But the two sides have differing versions of the firmness of the offer and, again, the true desire of the franchise’s lead decision-makers in valuing him as a can’t-lose member of the core, only becoming more complicated when Myers (the ultimate communicator) ceded his high-ranking position
by NokCha_
28 Comments
It’s this one. This one stings the most. Klay had to ask Steph to let him go.
Two years max contract while rehabbing.
Makes sense. Klay’s a sensitive dude with no sense of political games. He probably took the cold approach not as classic corporate angling, but personally and left before getting cut.
Klay felt disrespected last season but everything was deserved that happened. It was time to move on. Time to retool and bring out the positive vibes again. Must be tough as a young player seeing all this crap from vets whining.
I think I’m fine with it. If he’s that sensitive and broken down, and that unwilling to reshape his game to help us, then I wish him the best of luck. Only one party is being realistic about what he can contribute moving forward.
It was pretty obvious he wouldn’t take the benching role well but really did believe he’d relent since he played really well coming off the bench.
We can’t promise lifelong terms at a position when you have younger players hungry for playing time.
Very childish behavior by Klay tbh. Not for leaving, that’s totally fair at this point of his career, I understand him wanting a new situation.
But being so averse to the coaches decisions, the same coach that trusted him for so long, means he has no self-consciousness and he cared more about himself than the success of the team.
Damn. Klay is pouting …. even on his way out!!
Kinda sucks he feels disrespected when the organization has his back through it all.
Kerr wen out of his way to make him shine
I feel more and more appreciative of Steph. Sometimes it really does feel like he’s the only adult in the room.
Wow. All the talk about how if you bench Klay you’ll lose him mentally and perhaps literally was spot on.
Wonder if people will see the Kerr vet vs youth narrative differently now? He still likes his vets but it’s a little different when benching a vet makes them throw a fit and helps lead to their departure. He was not in an easy coaching position and ultimately made the very difficult and correct decision but it also helped split the big 3 up
I was waiting for the ‘Now they tell us’ pieces to come out. I would never have thought that things were this bad behind the scenes.
Any of us who watched every game last season knew Klay wasn’t happy. What’s funny is that he played his best basketball of that season when he was coming off the bench. If he accepted the two year $48m and accepted the bench role he would be making more money even with state tax difference, and everyone would talk about him as a super sub, he could legit win 6MOY, and everyone would use him as an example of aging gracefully as an NBA star.
Now he’ll find out what it’s like when you are on a new team that didn’t draft you, you weren’t a huge FA signing, and you start the first 20 games taking bad shots, shooting 23% from 3 while stopping exactly no one on defense. See exactly how long those good vibes last.
While I think Klay is still a good player that can help teams win I would rather Klay leave than another season like last year with his ups and downs.
Klay sounds like such a bitchy diva I’m not gonna lie
With Kyrie and Luka in the backcourt, they need a defensive anchor at 3, and Klay is certainly not that. Cant wait when they will eventually realize that.
Sad to see it happen but the reality is if we brought Klay back, he doesn’t move the needle much with this team in terms of competing in the West.
So the guy watched the team blossom into greatness because very good to great players were willing yo check their egos and then announced he’d be leaving the franchise the first time he wasn’t a starter?! I mean thank you Klay for everything but also… what a fucking snowflake!!
Guys would rather take a pay cut in Dallas than go to therapy
Unwilling to be a veteran leader and poisoning the young guys energy with his negativity, just another reason why it was time to part ways with Klay. So many fans gaslit themselves into thinking Klay was “happy coming off the bench” or “fine playing a reduced role” when it was clear to anyone who watched the games his fragile ego was hurt and he was sulking about it.
I love Klay, but this is ridiculous. The Warriors gave him a max contract after he blew out his knee. They paid him to sit nearly 2 seasons worth of games. He was an extension of the Curry family, he was Uncle Klay Thompson.
I’m going to miss him on the team, but there didn’t seem to be much that the Warriors could do to keep him happy and not completely paint themselves into a corner.
Love me some Klay but Once Klay did the 4 ring thing I knew he was mentally frail tbh.
I get Klay felt disrespected but the way he was playing was also incredibly frustrating to watch. Happy endings don’t really exist, so change could be a good thing for us.
Am I the only one excited for the young ones?
Finally let them play and develop.
If things were this bad they should’ve just traded him at the deadline.
Guess the front office and most of us are delusional to hope klay will mature and grow into elder statemen role in the team for the younger players, like what Andre, Shaun and others did during the rise of the warriors dominance in the past decade.
I think everyon expected the core to age like the old spurs core.Doing what ever it takes to [win.Be](http://win.Be) like manu and come off the bench. Taking less money and understanding sometimes you will play less minutes. It hard to be what the spurs core [did.To](http://did.To) be great at anything. You have to have a certain level of ego.
This shit breaks my heart. I never thought I would see the day when the core(Dray Klay Kerr Steph)wasn’t together. I hope Klay knows how much Dub Nation loves and appreciates him
steve kerr deserves an apology from so many in this sub
he has one of the toughest jobs in the world and has done a magnificent job doing it
there aren’t many coaches that are able to manage the temperament and ego of “star” players and kerr is one that can.
just look at vogel, the lakers “stars” and suns “stars” all gave up on him
look at doc, lots of finger pointing