Say it ain’t so.
Klay Thompson appears to be creating some distance from the Golden State Warriors as he approaches the threshold of NBA free agency.
In what fans and media have noted as a significant move, Thompson has unfollowed the Warriors on social media and has removed nearly all content related to the team from his profiles, dating back to April 2022.
RELATED: Klay Thompson Reportedly Has ‘Mutual Interest’ With Eastern Conference Team
This purge includes posts from the Warriors’ 2022 championship run, as reported by Gabe Lehman of SFGate.
This digital distancing comes as Thompson wraps up the final season of a five-year, $190 million contract he inked with Golden State back in 2019.
The conclusion of this contract sets the stage for him to start negotiations with other teams starting June 30, the official commencement of the NBA free agency period, with the potential to sign with a new team as early as July 6.
Over his 11-season tenure with the Warriors, Thompson has been a pivotal player, although his average dropped to 17.9 points per game this past season, the lowest since the 2012-13 season, despite carrying a substantial $43.2 million cap hit in the final year of his deal. As he enters free agency, Thompson is eligible for a four-year, $223 million maximum contract extension. However, negotiations that began last summer regarding this extension have reportedly been challenging. ESPN’s Kendra Andrews highlighted in February that such a high-value contract was seen as “unrealistic.”
Andrews also reported that financial terms and Thompson’s status within the team lineup were not the primary motivators for him, noting that he was open to considering shorter-term deals. A potential two-year extension, which would align his tenure with key team figures like Steph Curry and head coach Steve Kerr until 2026, was mentioned as a “viable option” by a team source.
Yet, as of May 30, Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported a stalemate in negotiations, with “no notable movement from either side toward a resolution.”
While Thompson’s recent actions on social media do not definitively indicate his departure from the Warriors, they do suggest that he hasn’t reached an agreement with the team—a team he has expressed a desire to stay with. This situation mirrors that of other athletes, such as Deebo Samuel of the San Francisco 49ers, who also distanced themselves from their teams on social media during contract negotiations, only to later resolve their disputes and sign extensions.
Thompson’s current stance, free from any direct association with the Warriors on his social platforms, at least hints at a moment of reconsideration or negotiation strategy as he navigates his future in the league.
