Warriors owner says they wanted Klay Thompson to be a Warriors for life but he decided to leave before free agency.

The Golden State Warriors lost a treasured star this summer after Klay Thompson signed a multi-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks. According to team owner Joe Lacob, it was rough watching Klay leave the Warriors behind but wasn’t entirely unexpected.

“To be frank and honest, Klay made the decision prior to the beginning of free agency and he informed us of it that his intention was to not come back,” said Lacob in a chat with Tim Kawakami. “He called me and said the same things you heard (at Klay’s Dallas news conference). Klay is an open book. He felt he needed for a variety of reasons to have a fresh start.”

“I would love if Klay had been a Warrior for life. And under a fair and equitable basis, we wanted to try to achieve that very badly. We did achieve it with Draymond (last summer), a different situation. Steph’s under the contract. So we felt we were on a path to do that. It just didn’t work out. … And we had to move on and accept that.”

One of the biggest stories of the summer was Klay Thompson’s move to Texas. It marked the end of a prosperous era for the Warriors and now Klay will be entering uncharted waters on a new team for the first time in his career.

Thompson, 34, is a Warriors legend and his legacy with the franchise will forever be immortalized. Over 11 years, Thompson helped the Warriors win four championships as a 5x All-Star, 2x All-NBA player, and as one of the great shooters in NBA history.

As a core member of a dynasty, Klay built lifelong connections with his peers like Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and former league veteran Andre Iguodala. Even after a series of injuries derailed his career, nobody imagined that Thompson would ever wear another team’s jersey.

After back-to-back seasons of subpar basketball, the situation between Thomson and the Warriors had become volatile and borderline toxic. As his role and minute gradually reduced, Thompson could do nothing but fight as his team turned his back on him.

By the summer, Klay had already made up his mind to leave and he told the Warriors of his intentions. While it was somewhat heartbreaking to see Klay leave the Warriors behind, Draymond Green admitted that he felt happy and relieved that Klay had a chance to find some happiness with a new team.

On the Mavericks, Thompson will not be asked to play an enormous role but his perimeter shooting and championship experience should provide a major boost for a Mavericks team that was a few wins away from winning the championship.

It remains to be seen what role Klay will have next year but it’s the fresh start he needed after such a miserable season with the Warriors. As for the status of his former team, their pursuit of the championship remains unchanged and with Step, Draymond, and Jonathan Kuminga, they still believe they have a fighting chance in the West.

While the possibility is always there that Thompson will return, there’s no going back on things now and both sides have no choice but to accept and move on.