Klay Thompson Rumors: Lakers Considered Due to 'Family Ties,' Not Basketball Reasons
July 4, 2024
If Klay Thompson had chosen the Los Angeles Lakers in NBA Free Agency, it wouldn't have been a decision made with championship contention in mind.
During an appearance on Get Up Wednesday, ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported that Thompson considered the Lakers but only for the history and his family ties to the organization.
"The Lakers were in on this conversation for Klay for not 100 percent basketball reasons," Windhorst said. "All of the basketball reasons said Dallas, which is why in the end he said Dallas."
Windhorst elaborated by saying that Thompson's respect for the Lakers was the driving force and was why the franchise was even an option.
"The reason that Klay was considering the Lakers was because of his affinity for the franchise," Windhorst said. "He gave the Lakers an opportunity because of his family ties, because of his history, because he likes living in Los Angeles in the offseason."
The decision to go the the Mavericks absolutely makes sense for contention reasons. Dallas went 50-32 in 2023-24 and earned the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference. The Mavericks would advance all the way to the NBA Finals, taking down the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers, first-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder and third-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves to reach that point.
Dallas would ultimately come up short of a championship, losing to the Boston Celtics in five games. There was a noticeable talent gap in the series, and Dallas hopes that Thompson can help close that.
He averaged 17.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 79 games for the Golden State Warriors in 2023-24, and is a five-time All-Star and four-time NBA Champion. He will bring some championship pedigree to Dallas, but he also would have been a big upgrade for the Lakers.
Los Angeles went 47-35 and fell to the Denver Nuggets in the first round in 2023-24. Thompson could have slotted in with LeBron James and Anthony Davis and donned the uniform his father Mychal wore for five seasons.
Instead, he joins Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving on a Mavericks team looking to earn it's first title since 2011.