(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Klay Thompson shocked the NBA world last week when he signed a 3-year, $50 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks in free agency, leaving the Golden State Warriors after 13 years and winning four championships, while also eschewing the Los Angeles Lakers, who were rumored to be a big threat to sign him in free agency given Klay’s affinity for LA and the fact that his father played for the team.
New details have emerged that shed some light on Klay’s decision and why he wanted to go to Dallas over LA.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne shared that Klay reportedly wanted a “fresh start” and felt like playing for the Lakers was too much like playing for the Warriors, adding “(LeBron) James had several deep conversations with Thompson about the idea of playing together, sources said. But something about playing for the Lakers apparently felt too much like playing for the Warriors. As one source close to him put it, ‘Would this be trading one fishbowl for another?’”
Klay Thompson reportedly wanted a “fresh start” and felt that playing for the Lakers was too much like playing for the Warriors, per @ramonashelburne & @kendra__andrews
“James had several deep conversations with Thompson about the idea of playing together, sources said. But… pic.twitter.com/byTBbpj3Ny
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 3, 2024
This isn’t the reasoning we expected, as the more obvious reason would be that he felt he had a better chance to win another championship by joining the defending Western Conference champions over a team that is stuck in the mud and building its immediate future by committing max contracts to a soon-to-be 40-year-old LeBron James.
Thompson is a great fit on paper with Dallas and should step right into the role Derrick Jones Jr. had before he signed with the Los Angeles Clippers in free agency, and he’ll have plenty of open looks playing alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
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