Klay Thompson’s father Mychal seemingly isn’t too thrilled in light of the news that his son will join the Dallas Mavericks as opposed to the Los Angeles Lakers.
"I'm not feeling too much in a congratulatory mood."
Mychal Thompson had hopes that his son, Klay Thompson, would join the Lakers.@champagnennuts | @TheFrankIsola | @Scalabrine pic.twitter.com/8TH9bV3Ktw
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 2, 2024
Sports personality Nick Wright took a jab at Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka after news of the younger Thompson agreeing to sign with the defending Western Conference champions became public.
"I am BAFFLED at the total inability of Rob Pelinka to get anything done, ever."
— @getnickwright reacts to Klay Thompson planning to join the Mavs, and sounds off on the Lakers not acquiring the SG: pic.twitter.com/SpFGI8sggg
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) July 1, 2024
The Lakers reportedly tried to convince the Golden State Warriors to take D’Angelo Russell in a sign-and-trade for the younger Thompson, but the Warriors weren’t interested in a reunion with the 28-year-old. Russell appeared in 33 games with the Warriors back in the 2019-20 regular season and averaged 23.6 points per contest on 37.4 percent shooting from 3-point range.
“I was told the Lakers made a pretty compelling offer,” Chris Haynes said regarding the Lakers’ intentions of acquiring the four-time NBA champion. “It was around a three-, four-year mark somewhere along the lines of 20 million per. And they didn’t get their guy.
“And it was gonna take, obviously, a sign-and-trade scenario, so that had nothing to do with LeBron James’ decision to take less. It was gonna take a sign-and-trade to get Klay, and it did not — it just did not happen. I was told that it would have likely involved D’Angelo Russell being a part of a deal to get Klay. And from what I was told, the Warriors weren’t interested in bringing back D’Angelo Russell.”
The younger Thompson played the first 11 seasons of his career with the Warriors — who selected him with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft — and earned five All-Star nods and won four titles during his time with the team, with his most recent title with Golden State coming in 2022.
The elder Thompson, on the other hand, spent a good chunk of his playing career with the storied Lakers franchise. By the time he played for Los Angeles, he was in the twilight of his NBA career, so he wasn’t as effective a player as he was with the Portland Trail Blazers earlier on during his time in the pros. But he still was an important role player on a pair of Lakers teams that went on to win titles.
The 69-year-old played with Los Angeles for just part of the 1986-87 season, his first season with the team, but he averaged 10.1 points per game on 48.0 percent shooting from the field along with 4.1 rebounds. That iteration of the Lakers went on to beat the Boston Celtics in the 1987 NBA Finals to win the title.
The elder Thompson arguably played at an even higher level during his first full season with the Lakers in the 1987-88 season, which also ended in a title for Los Angeles. He played in 80 regular-season games compared to 33 the year prior and averaged 11.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.0 block per game.
