Lakers News: Mychal Thompson Reacts to Son Klay's Decision to Sign with Dallas Over LA

The former Laker champion is not happy with his son’s decsion choosing Dallas over Los Angeles.

May 6, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) moves the ball against Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) during the second half in game three of the 2023 NBA playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Lakers haven't had much luck thus far through two days of free agency. The Lakers have swung and missed on some of the top free agents so far, including four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson.

Thompson chose the Dallas Mavericks over the Lakers, and many fans aren't happy with his decision, especially Thompson's father, former Laker champion Mychal Thompson. Mychal made a radio appearance with Frank Isola and Brian Scalabrine on Tuesday, and he wasn't shy to express his disappointment with Klay not winding up in Los Angeles.

"I'm not feeling too much in a congratulatory mood."

Mychal Thompson had hopes that his son, Klay Thompson, would join the Lakers.@champagnennuts | @TheFrankIsola | @Scalabrine pic.twitter.com/8TH9bV3Ktw

— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 2, 2024

"Hold your congratulations, Frank and Scal. I'm not feeling too much in a congratulatory mood right now," said Mychal Thompson. "Obviously, it's Klay's decision, it's his life, he's a grown man at 34 years of age. We were 34 at one time and our fathers would give us advice and we would choose our own path. And that's fine, that's what life is supposed to be about, but I'm really disappointed. I was hoping, hoping, as you can assess, that he would be a Laker. It was close, it came down to the Lakers and the Mavs, but the Mavs won out. But you know me, I was hoping and praying he would finish his career with the Lakers. 

"When he told me that the Lakers were talking to him, or gonna talk to him, and the Mavs too, obviously I tried to sell playing for the Lakers. That's the right thing for me to do and the proper thing for me to do and I felt like it was the correct thing for me to do because I really believe in this franchise, the franchise has been so good to me and my family, including Klay," the elder Thompson noted.

"He grew up a Laker fan, he grew up idolzing Kobe Bryant like most kids his age so I just thought it seemed to be the perfect fit for him to come back home. We had always talked about him playing for the Lakers if he was not a Golden State Warrior," Thompson continued. "Of course, being a fan of Kobe, he would have loved to have played for the Lakers. But he had a chance, and when the chance came he chose the Mavericks instead. I'll live with it, I accept it and I'm happy for him that he's happy with his decision, but of course I tried to sell him on the Lakers."

The Lakers appeared to have a realistic shot at landing Klay this offseason, considering he grew up being a Lakers and Kobe Bryant fan. However, none of that seemed to be a factor, and now Klay will take his remaining talents to Dallas via a sign and trade.

The Lakers reportedly offered Klay a four-year, $80 million contract and provided guard D'Angelo Russell via a sign-and-trade. The Warriors, however, declined. The Lakers have come up short time and time again, and with options running low, the Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka's feet are under fire.

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