Why Draymond didn’t try to convince Klay to stay with Warriors

Draymond Green was sad to see Klay Thompson leave the Warriors for the Dallas Mavericks, but he didn’t try to change his teammate’s mind.

Instead, Green was nothing but supportive when his longtime Golden State teammate recently called him to announce his big decision.

Green explained why he didn’t try to convince Thompson to stay with Golden State on the latest episode of “The Draymond Green Show.”

“When he called me, I didn’t even want to attempt to talk him out of leaving, or like, ‘Yo, you should stay,’ because all of the reasons that you would say — those are known, well documented,” Green said. “When he said, ‘Yeah, I’m going to leave,’ I was just like, ‘Man, I’m happy for you.’ Not once was it like, ‘You might want to rethink this, you got time to rethink this.’

“Because to see him struggle the way he did last year — if you ever care about someone’s well-being … go through the struggles with someone… — I’d hope the care that you have for that person would go well beyond what you may feel is best for you or what you want to see. I couldn’t go and be like, ‘I want to stay,’ or ‘You should stay for this reason.’”

The injuries, poor shooting, lineup changes and general wear and tear of being a 13-year veteran weighed on Thompson during the 2023-24 NBA season, and Green knew it.

Plus, as Green mentioned, there was nothing left to say to Thompson about the Warriors. He knew everything there was to know and just wanted a fresh start.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, Thompson’s career with Golden State is over. But that doesn’t mean the 34-year-old’s relationship with the organization has to be permanently soured.

In fact, Green is hopeful the two parties can have a healthy dynamic down the line.

“All great things must come to an end,” Green said. “Ultimately, my hope is that the organization — which I know they do — appreciate Klay and everything he has done, and I hope Klay appreciates the organization for everything this organization has done for us. 

“We had the best organization in the NBA supporting us and giving us the opportunities [and] the things we need to make that rise … I hope he appreciates the organization and the organization appreciates him.”

Thompson forever will be a Warriors and Bay Area legend. But for now, he is a Maverick.

While that will take some getting used to, Green knows that Thompson is happy with a clean slate in a new organization.

And the “Splash Brother” at least deserves that much.

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