Warriors’ Farewell to Klay Thompson Is “A Slap in the Face” as Ex-NBA Star Condemns “Disrespectful” Treatment

Klay Thompson will land in Dallas after a rather messy separation with the Golden State Warriors. The 5x All-Star has only suited for the Warriors in the NBA so far in his career, securing 4 NBA championships with the team. But it seems his contribution did not move GSW enough to meet his terms. As a result, Thompson is now moving to the Dallas Mavericks on a three-year, $50 million deal. Meanwhile, ex-NBA star Kenyon Martin has weighed in with his opinion of the “disrespectful” situation.

On the Gil’s Arena Show, Gilbert Arenas initiated the conversation on the note that there should not have been a negotiation in the first place for the kind of contributions Thompson has had with the Warriors. Martin believes the discussion could have involved more communication. Something along the lines of talking out a situation, where none of the two parties feel being taken advantage of. He further mentioned the franchise should not display a “we not budging” and “take it or leave it” kind of attitude.

Martin also pointed out that the Warriors offered a good deal to Draymond Green, but not Thompson. And this is despite the fact Thompson averaged more points. In fact, Martin believes the Warriors would not have been what they are without the 34-year-old. “I fought back through all this to get back here, to help us win again. And this is… this is m*****f***ing thanks I get…” Martin reflected on KT’s likely chain of thought.

He further termed the action by GSW “disrespectful” and like “a slap in the face”. Concluding his opinion, Martin agreed with Arenas’ belief that there are certain situations where it should not be about money and negotiation.

Notably, the franchise earlier offered Klay Thompson a two-year, $48 million extension. It is worth mentioning Stephen Curry himself has 2 years left on the contract. Head coach Steve Kerr also got a two-year, $35 million contract extension, aligning with Curry’s time on the team. It’s possible this is what GSW had in mind with their offer to Thompson as well. But the 5x All-Star believed he deserved more and rejected the offer. But the Warriors did not budge much on their offer and thus lost Thompson.

Should the Warriors have made a better offer to Klay Thompson?

In return for Klay, all the Warriors got from the Mavs were two second-round picks. Now this may be better than receiving nothing, but losing an instrumental player from the Warriors’ dynasty for such a paltry return made the Warriors a laughing stock among netizens. Additionally, the Mavs landed the 4x NBA champ on a $50 million, three-year deal.

Considering Golden State itself was already offering a two-year, $48 million deal, the franchise may now be thinking if they could’ve retained Thompson had they been just a bit more flexible in their terms.

Missing two seasons entirely because of his leg injury, Thompson has averaged 19.6, ppg with 41.3% 3-point shooting for the Warriors. Another important aspect is that the Warriors failed to even make it to the playoffs in Thompson’s absence during the two seasons.

Now, for season 2019-20, one can consider that even Curry played just 5 games because of his hand injury. But in 2020-21, both Curry and Green played 60+ games for the team. And somehow made it just to the play-in tournament, eventually failing to qualify for playoffs. But with Thompson back in season 2021-22, the Warriors again claimed a championship. Now it’s to be seen if Thompson is left with enough gas to fuel the Mavericks’ championship aspirations as well.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.