The meeting was supposed to be about Klay Thompson and his free-agency future.
But when the party of four settled in for a 90-minute dinner at the Bottle Inn Italian restaurant in Hermosa Beach, Calif., on Sunday night, just one block away from all those luxurious houses on The Strand that overlook the Pacific Ocean, the Golden State Warriors legend decided to focus on the Dallas Mavericks great who had come alongside the team’s president of basketball operations, Nico Harrison, to recruit him: Michael Finley.
Thompson had spent his formative years in nearby Orange County, a sharpshooter from Santa Margarita High who always highlighted the late, great Kobe Bryant as one of his main basketball muses and whose father, Mychal, won two titles with the Lakers during the Showtime era before becoming a longtime broadcaster for the team. But in this moment, with the Lakers waiting in the wings and LeBron James himself even promising to take a significant pay cut if it meant Thompson would wear the purple and gold, he wanted to learn all about life as a Dallas Maverick. And so the series of questions began for Finley, the Mavs vice president of basketball operations and former All-Star who had his best seasons in Dallas from 1996 to 2005.
Thompson, who was also joined by his agent, Greg Lawrence of the Wasserman Media Group, asked about his career and the old-school era in which the 51-year-old Finley played. He asked about the Dallas scene and Texas living, about the Mavericks fans and the arena environment that came with them. Thompson is a bona fide hooper, no matter the setting, and his regard for Finley’s journey and insights came with an authenticity that struck those at the dinner as quintessential Klay. Finley, per the guest-of-honor’s request, agreed to share his institutional knowledge as Thompson inched closer to a final decision.
Thompson had watched the Mavericks’ NBA Finals run and told those close to him how he envisioned fitting in, creating space for Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving on the offensive end while bringing his championship credentials to their rising program. His time with the Warriors was nearing an end by then, with league sources saying that contract proposals from Thompson’s side to the Warriors approximately two weeks ago were met not only by refusals but also by the revealing absence of counteroffers. With a week to go before free agency began, league sources say, Thompson had been convinced that the Warriors had no interest in bringing him back.
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The two-year, $48 million deal that may have been there last summer, when discussions were had about an extension in that range, was gone. Ditto for offers even below that figure. After Thompson’s tumultuous last season by the Bay, when the frustration about his extension situation and a significantly declined role made it so much harder to enjoy the game, this chance for a fresh start was feeling more right with every conversation he’d had within their group.
Thompson had talked on the phone and texted routinely with Irving, his old rival from those Warriors-Cavs finals matchups of yesteryear and an expert if ever there was one on the topic of rectifying a career amid a dimmer spotlight in Dallas. He had talked on the phone with Mavs coach Jason Kidd, the Hall of Famer who won a title with the Mavericks in 2011 and who offered to cut his family vacation short to make the recruiting meeting. (Thompson told him it wasn’t necessary.) It’s unclear if Thompson connected with Dončić, as he was busy competing with the Slovenian national team in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Greece, but the franchise centerpiece was known to be thrilled with the prospect of adding him to their core.
The Mavericks didn’t get their answer that night, as Thompson decided to add a good night’s sleep to the decision-making equation. But the next morning, as the Lakers waited for their chance to convince Thompson to come their way, he sent the word that a second in-person meeting would not be necessary. He was headed to Dallas on a three-year, $50 million deal via sign-and-trade, with the Warriors eventually receiving two second-round picks in return.
The irony of it all, given his reasons for dissatisfaction with the Warriors, is that the money was a secondary factor in his Mavericks decision. Thompson, well aware that the $43 million he earned last season with Golden State did not buy his happiness, chose Dallas mostly because he saw it as his best chance to win a fifth title.
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League sources say a Lakers deal would have been far more lucrative, with discussions about a four-year, $80 million deal for Thompson if they had been able to convince the Warriors to cooperate in a sign-and-trade that would have sent D’Angelo Russell back to the Warriors (or to a third team). He had phone conversations with James and new Lakers coach JJ Redick that were all positive, league sources say, with Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka staying in touch with Lawrence, but the allure of the Lakers situation simply didn’t match what the Mavericks had to offer.
The finances, of course, had everything to do with his perceived disrespect with the Warriors. They’d given Draymond Green that four-year, $100 million extension last summer, only to come Thompson’s way with talks of a deal that would total approximately half that amount. Thompson had bristled at the way Warriors owner Joe Lacob kept his distance from him all season, choosing not to ease his concerns about whether he was still a part of their plans.
The final example of that difficult dynamic came in mid-May, when league sources say Thompson accepted an invite from Lacob to play golf with him and a few friends at the prestigious Riviera Country Club in Palisades, Calif. They had a pleasant time, league sources say, but not a word was spoken about whether they would remain in the basketball business together. As Thompson learned that day, Lacob prefers not to discuss work matters while on the course.
In truth, the divide between Thompson and the Warriors had everything to do with their differing view on the devastating injuries that cost him two-and-a-half seasons of his prime and forever changed him as a player. From the Warriors’ side, there was a sense that their choice to give him a five-year, $189 million max-salary deal just one month after he tore his ACL in the 2019 finals was proof enough of their appreciation.
Add in that Thompson tore his Achilles tendon during an offseason workout as the 2020-21 season neared, and the front end of the deal was nothing short of atrocious from a team perspective. For Thompson, who can rightly cite the Warriors’ 2022 title and his pivotal part in it as his payback, there will always be the unfulfilled hope that they would have made him feel wanted just one last time.
The Mavericks, in turn, did just that. They met him where he was, both figuratively and literally, respecting his four rings and making it clear that he was their top priority of the offseason. They kept their meeting in that back room of the restaurant laid back, conversational and casual in ways that fit perfectly with Thompson’s off-court vibe. And in the end, with Harrison and Finley there to explain why the Mavericks could offer such a respite from the turmoil of his Warriors days, Thompson decided to pursue his basketball peace.
Required reading
Slater: How Klay Thompson’s 13-year run with the Warriors unceremoniously splintered
Kawakami: The poetic timing of Klay Thompson’s 13 seasons of splash for the Warriors
(Photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
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