“Oh yeah, you can mark it down. Klay’s going to retire in the Warriors’ uniform,” Mychal Thompson told Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle. “He’s going to play at Chase Center (the Warriors’ new arena, opening in 2019), and he’s not going to be at Chase Center as a visiting player, he’s going to be a Warrior for the next seven or eight years.”
And Mychal Thompson doesn’t see why the Warriors would break up their dynasty anytime soon, either:
“He’s got such a good thing here. The Warriors have such a special thing here. For the next six or seven years they’re going to be championship material, they’re not going to break that up. The Chicago Bulls (with Michael Jordan) were broken up too prematurely. (Warriors owners) Joe Lacob and Peter Guber aren’t going to let that happen. Are you kidding? They can afford it. They’re the Warriors, this is the Bay Area, they got a beautiful arena, and money’s no object for this team.”
Thompson, 28, has established himself as the game’s top shooting guard, averaging 20.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists this past season while shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 44 percent from three. He’s also an elite defender, making him a two-way weapon.
He was expected to become one of the marquee players in a potentially stacked group of 2019 free agents—which could also include Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving and Jimmy Butler, among others—though it sounds like Thompson intends on working out a long-term extension before free agency.
That will be a blow for teams that planned on making a run at Thompson next summer, and an even bigger blow for teams and NBA fans hoping to see the Warriors dynasty broken up in the foreseeable future.
As for next season, Mychal Thompson expects his son to continue improving.
“I think you’ll see a hungrier player,” he said. “He’s going to try to get more versatile, try to get to the basket a little more, more free throws, being more efficient on offense that way. I always tell him, try to make it a goal to shoot eight (free throws) a game. Eight or 10, like James Harden does.”
“He’s just coming into his prime,” he added. “Twenty-eight (Klay’s current age) to 34 are your best years of basketball.”
Courtesy: Bleacher Report
