NBA star's dad upset with his free agent decision

In case you haven’t heard, LeBron James and Bronny James will become the first father-son duo in NBA history when they inevitably share the court as members of the Los Angeles Lakers.

One member of the Lakers broadcast team, however, was hoping to have his own father-son reunion next season.

Appearing on SiriusXM Radio’s The Starting Lineup on Tuesday, Mychal Thompson discussed the news that his son, Klay Thompson, is leaving the Golden State Warriors after 13 years with the franchise. In doing so, the former NBA center and current Lakers radio analyst admitted that he was “disappointed” that his five-time All-Star son opted to sign with the Dallas Mavericks over the team he currently calls games for.

“I’m not feeling too much in a congratulatory mood right now,” Mychal told hosts Brian Scalabrine and Frank Isola. “Obviously it’s Klay’s decision. It’s his life. He’s a grown man, 34 years of age, just like we were 34 at one time. And our fathers used to give us advice and, you know, we would choose our own path and that’s fine, that’s what life is supposed to be about. But I was, I’m really disappointed. I was hoping, as you can assess, that he would be a Laker. And it was close. It came down to the Lakers and the Mavs, but the Mavs won out. But you know me, I was hoping and praying he’d finish his career with the Lakers.”

Asked by Scalabrine how much of a role he played in his son’s free agency, the 69-year-old Thompson — who won two NBA titles playing for the Lakers from 1987-1991 — admitted he did his best to recruit Klay to his former team.

“When he told me that the Lakers were talking to him, or going to talk to him, and the Mavs too, you know, obviously I tried to sell playing for the Lakers,” said Mychal, who won two NBA titles while playing for the Lakers from 1987-1991. “Obviously that’s the right thing for me to do and the proper thing for me to do. And I felt like it was the correct thing for me to do because I really believe in this franchise. The franchise has been so good to me and my family, including Klay.

“He grew up a Laker fan. He grew up idolizing Kobe Bryant like most players his age, most kids his age. So I just thought it seemed like it would be the perfect fit for him to finally come back home. ‘Cause we always talked about him playing for the Lakers, if he was not a Golden State Warrior, where else would he wanna play? And of course, being a fan of Kobe’s, he would’ve loved to have played for the Lakers. But he had a chance, and when the chance came, he chose the Mavericks instead. And I’ll live with it. I accept it and I’m happy for him that he’s happy with his decision. But yeah, of course I tried to sell him on the Lakers.”

As for why the 34-year-old Thompson opted for Dallas over Los Angeles, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the financial benefits of living in Texas over California and the Mavericks coming off a season in which they reached the NBA Finals both played roles. Meanwhile, Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes noted that the Warriors weren’t interested in bringing back D’Angelo Russell in a potential sign-and-trade to help facilitate such a deal with the Lakers.

Regardless of the reasoning, it remains somewhat surprising that Thompson turned down the opportunity to wear a Lakers uniform. And it’s perhaps even more surprising that his father would be as candid as he was regarding his feelings about the move.

[ SiriusXM Radio ]

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