Warriors Mulled Adjusted Role for Klay Thompson Had He Stayed, per Report

Tom Dierberger | Jul 1, 2024

Warriors guard Klay Thompson looks on during a game against the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center. / Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

Last season, Klay Thompson saw a glimpse what his future would look like if he remained with the Golden State Warriors. And after officially hitting free agency Sunday, he chose to depart the Bay Area by reportedly landing with the Dallas Mavericks in a sign-and-trade deal.

Yahoo Sports insider Jake Fischer reported Monday that if Thompson returned to the Warriors, coach Steve Kerr was planning to bring him off the bench to back up second-year guard Brandin Podziemski.

It's something the 34-year-old did toward the end of the 2023-24 season. He was brought off the bench for the first time since his rookie season on Feb. 15, a game the Warriors won 140–137 over the Utah Jazz. Podziemski started that night but Thompson flourished as a reserve, draining seven three-pointers and scoring a season-high 35 points on 13-of-22 shooting.

Thompson remained on the Warriors' bench for the next few weeks until working his way back into the starting five in late March. He did start what ended up being his final game in a Golden State uniform—the Warriors' 118–94 loss to the Sacramento Kings in the play-in tournament—but missed all 10 of his attempts from the field and didn't score a single point.

The future Hall of Famer clearly wasn't a fan of transitioning to a bench role as he enters the later stage of his career. He spoke multiple times about his frustration of getting benched late in games throughout the season and, although he said all the right things about coming off the bench in the media, his body language communicated a different message.

Thompson should get a chance to start with the Mavericks alongside Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, their star-studded backcourt duo.

One day, Thompson will have a statue of himself on display outside Chase Center. He was a key piece of four championship runs alongside Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala. But for now, Thompson will enter the next chapter of his NBA career chasing a fifth championship—and likely not as a full-time reserve.