Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr reiterated his desire for the team to re-sign Klay Thompson, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
The multi-titled coach recently joined the Jim Rome Show to discuss the possibility of Thompson not returning to the squad where he spent the first 13 years of his NBA career.
“There’s just gonna be difficult moments. Uncomfortable moments where money is involved, contracts, you know, respect, however you wanna put it. This is the way it works in the NBA and any professional sport,” Kerr explained. “What I do know is that Klay has been such an integral part of everything around here. Obviously, you know, multi-time champion, but even more than that just someone who has such a great connection with the Bay Area, with the franchise, with his teammates.
“We want Klay back desperately, I want him back desperately, and we’ll have our conversations, and he’s gotta make whatever decision he makes. Yeah, we really want him back, he’s Klay Thompson,” he emphasized.
Golden State Warriors remain noncommittal about Klay Thompson
Golden State Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy said that talks are ongoing between the team and Klay Thompson’s camp. He admitted that as much as they want to re-sign Thompson, both sides have yet to agree on a new deal.
“Hopeful he’ll come back, but as far as the specifics of discussions and those types of things, I think it’s important to keep in-house,” Dunleavy said during the team’s pre-draft press conference.
“I think being reasonable and rational, that’s always how I’m going to operate but to say about a guy like Klay Thompson, who’s meant so much to this franchise, to completely strip the emotion away from it, I think that’s almost impossible. Factoring all of those things in is what’s most important, and that’s what is taking place and what we’re looking at,” he added.
Klay Thompson is coming off a down year by his high standards, as the 34-year-old averaged 17.9 points per game in 77 regular-season games, his lowest-scoring regular-season average in 11 years.
