Mavs’ Klay Thompson hasn’t closed door on Warriors reunion despite awkward departure

Klay Thompson’s exit from Golden State didn’t happen overnight, and it wasn’t just about basketball.

According to Anthony Slater and Tim MacMahon of ESPN, lingering tension between Thompson and the Warriors dates back to the contract he signed after tearing his ACL in the 2019 NBA Finals.

Golden State re-signed Thompson to a five-year max in what was publicly framed as loyalty to a franchise cornerstone who helped deliver three championships.

Behind the scenes, it didn’t always feel that way to Thompson.

League sources told ESPN that Thompson was bothered by comments he overheard from owner Joe Lacob, who allegedly pointed to Thompson’s declining production and suggested the sharpshooter should be grateful the organization gave him that deal. From Thompson’s perspective, that stung.

“This was a guy who felt he left it all out there for Joe and the organization, and was then viewed as damaged goods,” one league source told ESPN.

Thompson’s situation grew more complicated after he tore his Achilles in a pickup game the following year, costing him a second straight season. While Thompson later acknowledged he could have handled his ACL rehab more carefully, the relationship with management had already begun to fray.

That strain carried into the back end of his contract. The Warriors maintain they offered Thompson a two-year, $48 million extension in the summer of 2023. Thompson and his camp, however, didn’t view the proposal as firm, and he ultimately came away believing the organization “pushed him out in a strategic manner” during his 2024 free agency, per ESPN’s reporting.

Now with the Mavericks, Thompson has told people he wants to be competing for championships and remains hopeful that can happen in Dallas. As for a potential reunion with Golden State down the road, he hasn’t closed the door entirely.

One league source told ESPN that Thompson would seriously consider it if Stephen Curry made the call.

“There’s no one that carries more weight with Klay than Steph,” the source said.

Curry didn’t dismiss the idea either.

“It would be unbelievable,” Curry said. “If that time comes and that conversation is had, of course I’m calling him and saying, ‘We want you back.’ And hopefully that would be a welcome message to him. But as we stand right now, that does seem like a far-distant reality. But so did him leaving.”