Draymond Green says Klay Thompson’s exit from Golden State was probably coming long before the injuries changed everything.
On his podcast, Green argued that Thompson likely would have tested free agency after the 2019 playoffs if not for the knee and Achilles injuries that cost him 2 1/2 years of his career. Thompson spent his Warriors run from the year he was drafted in 2011 through the 2023/24 season, but Green said the injury setback kept that ending from arriving much earlier.
“Everyone tries to make Klay the guy Klay was after the injuries,” Green said. “I won’t go for that.
What I will also say is, [it was] highly likely that after the 2019 playoffs, Klay Thompson was going to leave the Golden State Warriors and go be a No. 1 option somewhere. … Then he got hurt, and so he stayed.
“But one thing I can assure you, there was a 90 percent chance my brother was going to leave Golden State and go elsewhere and test that No. 1 option thing out. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in the cards for him and he got hurt and he never got the opportunity to.”
Thompson is now with the Heat after agreeing to a two-year deal following a buyout with the Mavericks.
Elsewhere in the West, Miles Bridges could end up being just as important for Phoenix on defense as he is on offense. Bridges, who was traded to the Suns this offseason, has averaged 20-plus points in three different seasons, but Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic wrote that his value may go well beyond scoring. His versatility gives Phoenix a chance to use him as an elite defender against wings and dribble drives, and he can also help with switching.
Dillon Brooks sees that fit clearly. “Miles is going to be able to give us that size, the agility, and the athleticism to guard the fours,” Brooks said.
“It’s going to make me be able to guard some of the wings and the guards, which I like, but it’s interchangeable with me and Miles. I’m going to challenge him to be able to guard guards and challenge him to be able to get out of his comfort zone to be able to make him better so you can guard any position, not only fours and threes, but, guarding guys like Kawhi Leonard to De’Aaron Fox.”
The Thunder also made a business move off the court, striking a partnership with locally-owned broadcast company Griffin Media for the upcoming season, according to Rylan Stiles of SI.com. Along with that deal, Oklahoma City launched Thunder+, a streaming service that will let local fans watch every non-nationally exclusive game without blackout restrictions.
And in a separate financial note, Bloomberg reported that an LLC controlled by LeBron James borrowed nearly $300MM from two Midwestern life insurers advised by an arm of Guggenheim Partners months before James signed with the Lakers in 2018. The bonds are tied to future revenue from his endorsement deals, including a lifetime Nike sponsorship, and are set to run until 2049. A spokesperson for James called it a standard financial structure for high-earning individuals.
In Other News...
Yaxel Lendeborg Just Got The Perfect Rookie Year Motivation
ESPNs latest Rookie of the Year poll gave Cam Boozer the edge in a crowded first-year class, and it also left Golden State rookie Yaxel Lendeborg outside the top five. For a player who arrived as the 11th pick and has already looked like one of the Warriors more polished young pieces in Summer League, that kind of early omission can serve as fuel. Lendeborg has been part of a promising start in Golden State, helping push the roster to a Summer League championship and giving the franchise a glimpse of a rookie who seems eager to carve out a real role.
The added wrinkle is a budding competition with Boozer, who got the national nod and already met Lendeborg on the floor this summer. Lendeborg said the matchup gave him motivation to prove the projection wrong, and the Warriors will likely enjoy that edge if it travels beyond July. For a team always looking for young players who bring both production and a chip on their shoulder, this is the sort of under-the-radar rivalry worth watching as the season approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Dynasty Nearly Started With One Veterans Warning
Before the Warriors became the leagues defining dynasty, there was a real question hanging over the franchise after a painful 2014 playoff exit about whether the group had already reached its ceiling. Former executive Bob Myers recently revisited that moment on a podcast with Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter, describing how one veteran around the team saw the disappointment differently, reading it as proof the core was close rather than broken.
The warning mattered because the next step was not obvious at the time, and the temptation to rework the roster would have been easy to understand. Instead, the Warriors stayed the course, and the season that followed became the start of a championship run that changed the franchises history, with that veteran eventually stepping away as the dynasty was taking shape. [Read more 🡒]
Bob Myers Just Reminded Warriors Fans What Golden State Lost
Bob Myers spent years at the center of the Warriors rise, and even in a new chapter with the Philadelphia 76ers, he still sounds like someone looking back on a run that defined an era in Golden State. The former general manager was a key architect of four championships, helping draft foundational pieces and bringing in Steve Kerr to guide a team that became one of the NBAs modern standards.
In a recent interview, Myers talked about his tenure with the franchise and the part he says he misses most from those years, which is the part no front-office title can really replace. It is a reminder that for all the trophies and roster moves, the bond with Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala was a big part of what made the whole thing work, and why the separation still carries some weight. [Read more 🡒]