Some folks in the NBA world still cannot fathom the fact that Klay Thompson is playing for a different franchise now. The star shooting guard discussed in his introductory press conference with the Dallas Mavericks that breakups are bound to happen . However, there are people who believe his parting ways with the Golden State Warriors could have been avoided had the organization treated him better.
Among those who appear to think the Warriors dropped the ball is franchise legend Mitch Richmond . In a recent interview with SiriusXM NBA Radio, the retired sharpshooter offered his two cents about Klay's departure from Golden State.
"That was tough because I'm such a big fan of Klay," Richmond said of Thompson. "I didn't really wanna see him go out. I wish we would've kind of treated him a little better in that aspect because he's been one of the guys, a durable guy, just never says anything but goes out and plays. He's just been the ultimate pro. So, that was a big blow."
The Warriors picking up the pieces
The six-time All-Star wondered how the Dubs would recover from losing one of their cornerstones that helped raise four championship banners in the rafters to the Mavericks .
However, it looked like they had already been preparing for Thompson's departure, as the Warriors didn't seem willing to fulfill his desire to bag a long-term and lucrative deal. In addition, there are reports that the team didn't plan on putting him back on the starting lineup.
Golden State has actually done a decent job of bringing in suitable replacements for the now-departed Splash Brother. It signed two-way players De'Anthony Melton and Kyle Anderson, then acquired another deadly sniper in Buddy Hield to form the Splash Buddies with Stephen Curry.
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Thompson missed out on being a Warrior for life
Despite the parties involved appearing to be content with how things turned out, Richmond believes Klay deserves to end his career with the franchise that drafted him 13 years ago.
"I just wanted to see Klay end his career at Golden State," the five-time All-NBA selection said. "No question about it. Kind of similar to me, I wanted to end my career in Golden State as well. But they moved me to Sac."
Like Thompson, Richmond had a good thing going in the Bay Area before unfortunate circumstances led to their parting of ways with the organization.
The No. 5 pick of the 1988 NBA Draft helped put the Warriors back on the map by forming the famous "Run TMC" trio with Tim Hardaway and Chris Mullin. The high-octane offense took the league by storm and helped the team secure two postseason berths in three years. Unfortunately, the front office decided to break up the band in 1991 by shipping Richmond to the Sacramento Kings.
While the Florida native thrived on the Kings, where he earned all his All-Star and All-NBA berths, it looks like if he had his way, he would have remained a Warrior for life.
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