What Klay said to Draymond in an emotional conversation before leaving the Warriors originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
The Warriors’ dynastic trio of Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson split on Monday when the latter joined the Dallas Mavericks in NBA free agency.
And while it didn’t exactly come as a surprise to Dub Nation after reports surfaced over the weekend that Thompson was leaving, the four-time NBA champion informed his longtime teammates last week that he wouldn’t come back out to the bay in a final, heartfelt conversation.
“I have to say, I really don’t know how I feel about this,” Green said in his first public comments since Thompson’s departure on Tuesday’s episode of his podcast. “Klay told us last week. I don’t know who he told everything to, but I know he talked to me, I’m pretty sure he talked to Steph last week, and he kind of…started talking over the years.” . , as, ‘[It’s] it was amazing. What we did is so special. You and Steph [are] my brothers forever.’
“And the conversation kind of starts out as small talk, and you’re just getting ready, like, ‘Dude, take me there. I know it’s coming.’ You’re enjoying the conversation, but it’s still one of those moments where someone is building you up before making you explode… I was going to my daughter’s recital, so I couldn’t go as deep into the conversation as I might have done, which I think was also a good thing for me, because when Klay told me, I just got to hear it, and it wasn’t like, ‘Hey, we could end it like this,’ or, ‘You should rethink that.’
“It was like, ‘Wow, okay. Congratulations, man, I’m happy for you. That’s awesome,’ to obviously reassure that [this] It doesn’t change anything for us. It changes the basketball court, obviously, but relationships are what they are, they are forever.”
Thompson, Green and Curry created a dynasty in the Bay that will stand the test of time. And although half of the Splash Brothers will wear a different uniform next season, the trio’s bond will never be broken. This was evident in Thompson’s approach to informing Green of his decision in advance.
“The connection, the bond, even though we are all mentioned together – that is forever. That’s never going to change, but it’s – I don’t know. I really wasn’t able to process the feelings. .. Earlier today, I think I may have shed a few tears, a tear or two, just sitting there and thinking.
There are some moments in life that we cannot be prepared for, even if they can be seen from a mile away. And while Green is certainly happy with Thompson’s next step in his NBA journey, that doesn’t make his friend’s departure any easier.
