The End of an Era: Klay Thompson Parts Ways with the Golden State Warriors

Even the most beautiful things, at some point, come to an end. The story between Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors had been going on since 2011but after 13 seasons in the Bay their paths have come to divide, effectively ending the era of the Big Three with Steph Curry and Draymond Green. According to ESPN, in fact, Thompson has reached an agreement to sign with the Dallas Maverickswho offered a three-year, $50 million total. To get Thompson to sign with the Texans, the defending runner-up are orchestrating a sign-and-trade that would send Australian Josh Green to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for two second-round picksone of which was then passed on to the State Warriors to make the deal work. Thompson chose the Mavs’ court over the Los Angeles Lakers’, preferring to join Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to become their prime target on the perimetertransforming the Mavs’ offense into an even more powerful and dangerous version of the one that made it to the Finals. After the departure of Derrick Jones Jr., the Mavs had already protected themselves by signing Naji Marshall on a three-year, $27 million total.

How Thompson and the Warriors Fall Out

Thompson, who turned 34 on February 8, had some ups and downs last season and ended up just under 18 points on average with 43.2% from the field and 38.7% from three pointswhile showing significant lapses in terms of athleticism and defense that also earned him 16 games started from the bench in the role of sixth man for the Warriors. This was one of the many reasons that led to the breakup between Thompson and the team with which he won four NBA titles, also feeling “not very respected” with the offers put on the table by the Warriors both last year (when he has not signed a contract extension) that this summer (when they failed to agree to a renewal), unlike what Curry and Green obtained in their negotiations. According to The Athletic, the Warriors have moved to replace him taking De’Anthony Melton with a one-year $12.8 million.

2024-07-01 22:16:27
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