Draymond believes Klay views his Warriors ending as a ‘blemish’ on his career originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Draymond Green believes Klay Thompson sees his Warriors ending as a blemish on his NBA career.
On Monday’s episode of his podcast “Draymond Green Show,” Green further discussed Thompson’s departure for new co-host Baron Davis.
“I hope and pray that [Thompson] goes to Dallas and plays great. … because it will help him appreciate what he did here,” Green told Davis. ‘If I’m completely honest with you, I think it’s a stain [his career]for him. And Klay didn’t say it’s a stain, by the way; It’s just how I feel in my gut.”
Thompson spent his first 13 seasons with Golden State, where he won four championships, was a five-time All-Star and a two-time All-NBA selection, along with future Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame selections in Steph Curry and Green.
But due to contractual impasses, Thompson shockingly left the Warriors for the Dallas Mavericks last season.
Green knows that number 11 will one day be retired at Chase Center in honor of the new Mavericks sharpshooter. Until then, Green hopes Thompson can heal after his Golden State era roughly ends.
“So often in the NBA, people don’t have a place to call home,” Green added. “And again, no matter how he feels, he gets a statue here, his jersey goes up, he’s a legend, this is his forever home – all of that. You just want him to feel how he should feel when he leaves a place you built.
“I hope for him — just knowing who Klay Thompson is as a person — I feel like if he goes to Dallas and plays great, he can say, ‘Okay, I’m cool now.’ He’s just so competitive, man. I just want that for him, brother.”
Thompson wanted a contract that would have aligned him with Curry and Green’s timelines. Instead, he reportedly faced cold negotiating tactics from Warriors owner Joe Lacob.
It will take some time for Thompson – and all of Dub Nation – to heal after one of the Bay Area’s most iconic athletes left for Texas. However, Green knows that the Warriors organization will forever be Thompson’s home and that the two sides can one day remember.
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