“My son Kent (currently in the front office) was young at the time. I remember him telling me: ‘If we don’t draft Klay Thompson, I’ll never talk to you again,'” mentioned Joe Lacob after witnessing Klay Thompson’s aura in college. After 13 seasons with the golden franchise, Klay left for the Dallas Mavericks.

But in his yesteryears, Thompson impressed the majority owner of GSW after he saw the Washington Star drop 21 points in a road win. Since then, Klay’s talents earned him a ticket to the Warriors. However, it all altered this season.

You see, some players need to be valued or loved. Klay is a guy like that. If a player helps you win championships, you keep them from the leadership’s point of view. But sometimes, the franchises have the right to rebuild squads, and the Warriors have pulled the plug on Klay. The owner, though, wanted to fetch him the market value contract as he entered the free agency. At least, he planned to. With a reported offer of $48 million for two years, Klay thought otherwise.

The genuine appreciation for his game diminished. He believed the front office or ownership didn’t have enough desire to keep a legend around. Thus, he took his talents to Dallas, where Mark Cuban welcomed him with open arms. During the summer, the Warriors focused on other talents rather than Klay Thompson, aiming to fill the void. They have been successful in some way if you look at their standings.

Replacing a .413 3P% shooter is never a straightforward task. But players like De’Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield, and Brandin Podziemski have all come up with the goods, as Podziemski looks like a talent for the ages. The fiasco melted into a breakfast conversation between Steve Kerr and Klay, hinting at the shooting guard’s upcoming future.

Warriors owner in disbelief when Klay Thompson announced his departure

Lacob mentioned to the Athletic, “To be honest with you, shocked. If you would’ve told me a few years ago, if there’s one person that I would have never thought that would ever leave the Warriors and would retire as a Warrior, I would probably (have said) Klay would be the highest likelihood.” From all the words above, you know the Warriors miss Klay Thompson. His uncompromising support for Curry proved invaluable, captivating fans for countless hours.

The Dallas Mavericks recognized it and handed over a 50 million contract for 3 years. With the GSW front office retracting on Thompson’s deal, the prodigal son will return to face the Warriors for the NBA Cup group stage game. It will surely be ‘weird’ to see him play in a Warriors jersey after having cherishable moments with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.

“It’s weird seeing No. 31 (on it),” Curry noted. “I hate that.” He misses him, one might say. Of course, if you’re one-half of the Splash brothers, you will surely miss him!

To put things into perspective, a fan-made video went randomly on social media, where Curry passed the ball to the corner, the spot Thompson picked up. After years of playing together, they developed a telepathic relationship. But in the video, we noticed Curry giving away a turnover several times, thinking Klay stands in the corner. Muscle memory couldn’t come better than this!

The bond’s real, guys! It’s an emotional moment when the two meet. Lacob could shed some tears, as well. After all, he gave them four NBA championships!