Last summer, the Golden State Warriors had to make one of the most difficult decisions in franchise history when they allowed Klay Thompson to sign with the Dallas Mavericks in free agency. It marked the conclusion of a long and drawn-out saga, and calling it an emotional one would be an understatement.
Thompson of course provided Warriors fans with some of the best memories in all their years of fandom. Who could ever forget all the "Game Six Klay" performances in the playoffs, his 60-point game in only 29 minutes while taking 11 dribbles, or the night where he made a record-breaking 14 three-pointers against the Chicago Bulls?
His name is etched into Golden State lore forever, and he will forever be beloved at Chase Center, along with anywhere the Warriors gather to play their games in the future. So when he began to explore free agency options outside of the Bay Area last summer, fans knew it was going to likely lead to an emotional departure.
The Warriors are surging, the Mavericks are falling
But at the same time, his decision was largely understandable as well. Klay had just put up a disastrous 0-for-10 performance in Golden State's play-in game, and their future as a team was not the brightest. Who could blame Klay for wanting to start a new chapter in his career and go play with a guy like Luka Doncic? Alongside the Slovenian star and Kyrie Irving, Thompson looked to be an elite addition that could help the Mavericks potentially win a championship.
However, as we are seeing, things have not panned out how anyone envisioned. As the 2024-25 regular season comes to a close, we all thought Klay would be preparing to head to the playoffs with the Mavs and help Dallas try to reach the NBA Finals for a second season in a row. Instead, he is one of the biggest names left on a completely depleted roster. Doncic was traded to Los Angeles, Anthony Davis is sidelined due to injury, and Kyrie Irving has now been ruled out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury.
It is an absolutely brutal stretch for the Mavericks, and Klay Thompson has to be extremely disappointed with how things are turning out, especially given the current state of the Warriors as they continue to climb up the Western Conference standings. At the end of the day, he is still a multimillionaire athlete with a very comfortable life. But it feels hard to say he would not feel let down by the way this season and his overall situation in Dallas has turned out, at least for the time being.