Many Golden State Warriors fans were devastated when Klay Thompson was recently traded to the Dallas Mavericks. Everyone was wondering why this happened, and some have theorized that Thompson’s subpar play in the 2023–24 season is to blame. However, Joe Lacob, the owner of the Warriors, just disclosed the true drama surrounding the trade. During a recent interview with Tim Kawakami of the Athletic, Lacob began by stating that Thompson had made the decision before the start of free agency and had informed him of his intention to move on.

“To be frank and honest, Klay made the decision prior to the beginning of free agency and he informed us of it that his intention was to not come back. He called me and said the same things you heard (at Klay’s Dallas news conference). Klay is an open book. He felt he needed for a variety of reasons to have a fresh start.” Lacob said to the Athletics.

Thompson Still Has the Chance to Rejoin the Warriors

The Warriors lost their best trio, which included Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Thompson, following Thompson’s exit. They lost a valuable player from the team. However, Thompson still has the opportunity to return to the Warriors. Lacob expressed his desire for Thompson to be a Warrior forever. He said that, like they did with Green and Curry, he wanted to get Thompson back on the team.

“I would love if Klay had been a Warrior for life. And under a fair and equitable basis, we wanted to try to achieve that very badly. We did achieve it with Draymond (last summer), a different situation. Steph’s under the contract. So we felt we were on a path to do that. It just didn’t work out. … And we had to move on and accept that.” Lacob added.

If Thompson were to come back to the Warriors, that would be fantastic. If not, we would see his dominance on the court alongside Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic in the upcoming NBA season.