Report: Klay Had Request for Steph During Warriors Negotiations originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
It wasn’t an easy decision for Klay Thompson to leave the Warriors.
The veteran guard ultimately agreed to sign a three-year, $50 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, ending his 13-year career with Golden State. But his departure from the only organization he’s ever known in the NBA didn’t come without some difficult conversations.
One of them was with my old teammate and Splash Brother, Steph Curry.
While negotiations with the Warriors reportedly stalled in recent weeks leading up to the start of free agency, Thompson spoke with Curry and urged the star player not to pressure Warriors management to re-sign Thompson, The Athletic’s Anthony Slater reported in a backstory on Monday.
“It’s been a layered five-year path to this divorce, one that unraveled last season, germinated earlier and was finalized in the last few weeks, during which — among the conversations Thompson had, league sources said — was a request from Stephen Curry not to exert his considerable organizational influence and raise the temperature with management to secure Thompson’s return,” Slater wrote. “Curry’s measured vote, even if it changed the outcome, would not change the sincerity of Joe Lacob and the front office’s true desire to have Thompson back.”
It appears his wish has come true, as the Warriors have reportedly had little contact with Thompson and his representatives in recent weeks.
And now Thompson is gone.
Curry has a lot of influence over the organization and is often asked to approve major moves before the board executes them. One example of this is Golden State’s failed attempt to sign star player Paul George. He and teammate Draymond Green both agreed to it, before George opted out of his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers and reportedly agreed to a contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Thompson made the difficult decision alone and will now team up with Luka Dončić, Kyrie Irving and the Western Conference rival Mavericks, facing Curry and the Warriors at least three times in the 2024-25 NBA season.
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