Joe Lacob claims Klay Thompson's stance on leaving Warriors was firm before free agency negotiation

Much has been said about why Klay Thompson left the Golden State Warriors after a dynastic run alongside Steph Curry and Draymond Green. After four championships and helping Curry change how basketball is played, “Killa Klay” took his talents to Dallas. Thompson signed a three-year, $50 million deal to play with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

Warriors team governor Joe Lacob chose to keep silent at the height of speculations and rumors regarding Thompson’s future in the Bay Area. He never came out to confirm or deny reports about the team’s future Hall of Famer. On Friday, he finally opened up about the whole saga.

On NBA insider Tim Kawakami’s “The TK Show,” Lacob had this to say about Klay Thompson’s situation:

“But you know, to be frank and honest, Klay [Thompson] made the decision prior to the beginning of free agency and he informed us of it that his intention was to not come back.”

Joe Lacob also said that the Golden State Warriors offered “a substantially higher” contract “than what he ultimately did wind up signing for.”

In December 2023, Shams Charania reported that the Dubs’ offer before the 2023-24 season started was “two years in the range of $48 million.” Jacob added that it was “well-chronicled” how much the Dubs put on the table as a possible extension. When Thompson’s camp refused the offer, Jacob removed it.

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Joe Lacob admits Warriors couldn’t make an offer to Klay Thompson in free agency

On June 6, the NBA allowed teams to begin negotiations with free agents. But, it wasn’t until July 6 that teams could sign players to their rosters. Klay Thompson agreed to a deal with the Dallas Mavericks on July 1 and signed the contract roughly a week later.

Joe Lacob opened up about why the Warriors couldn’t offer something to Thompson right away on “The TK Show”:

(11:20 mark)

"We were in the process of developing an offer [at the start of free agency]. We really couldn't do that, he knew that, without seeing how a lot of different chips, things were happening. We had a lot of things going on."

It was also Tim Kawakami who reported the Warriors' interest in trading for Paul George. Joe Lacob likely waited for that “chip” to fall before addressing Klay Thompson's free agency.

Kawakami reported that “the Clippers weren’t interested in trading [George] to Golden State." George later opted out of his contract and then signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Meanwhile, Thompson agreed to a deal with the Mavericks about the same time George exercised his player option with the Clippers.

Lacob had this to say about Klay Thompson’s decision:

“He made the choice a little early. He made it for us.”

“Game 6 Klay” said in his introductory press conference in Dallas that he wanted a “fresh start and feeling wanted again.” Only time will tell if Joe Lacob and Thompson made the right decisions.