Klay Thompson’s exit has left a hole in the hearts of us Warriors fans, as it has brought his iconic partnership with Stephen Curry to an end. The other half of the ‘Splash Brothers’ duo, who spent over 13 years as KT’s teammate, reflected on his pain during a recent interview by stating “I kind of have this idea that in October, he’ll still like, you know, ‘Hey guy, what’s up.’” The same interview, however, saw Curry casting doubts on his future with the Golden State Warriors.

The same became palpable after Stephen Curry proceeded to state “Life, and especially life in the NBA, it is a wild environment, and things change quickly.” The four-time champion’s remarks were then reflected on by the hosts of 95.7 The Game and one anchor believed that both Curry and GSW have complimented each other well, claiming that the player may not have been in the Finals if he wasn’t backed by a star-filled roster.

As the discussion shifted to speculating where the player could head next, Daryle ‘The Guru’ Johnson was not having any of it. “Steph is an icon, he goes nowhere, and you do everything you can for him to retire in that jersey,” said Johnson. “He’s not old and decrepit, the dude averaged 26 points a game, he’s older and needs help.” 

Curry’s remarks and the Bay Area veteran’s response come just as the Warriors are prioritizing small forward Lauri Markkanen, who Guru termed “better than Kuminga” as GSW’s “No. 1 trade target.” With Klay Thompson and Chris Paul gone via free agency, the Utah Jazz player may be all that the franchise needs to fill the gap and ensure that Steph is not so easily convinced about leaving.

The 23.2 points he averaged during the previous regular season, combined with his skills involving off-ball play, can help reduce Curry’s offensive burden by a lot and act as a secondary force to the 4x champion. Unfortunately, Utah Jazz is refusing to budge on trading him with Yahoo’s Jake Fischer, claiming that there is only a “10% chance they’re (Jazz) going to move him.”

Importantly, Steph Curry has also emphasized that he wants to win and that he wants “to be in the best position to make that happen.” If Lauri Markkanen can be that person and provide the required help, then all the better.

Stephen Curry admits he “never imagined” Klay’s exit

The situation between Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors deteriorated after both entities could not land on a suitable extension agreement. Fortunately, he found the same with the Dallas Mavericks, who took him in under a 3-year, $50 million contract. With this, his partnership with Stephen Curry, which brought four Larry O’Brien trophies home for the franchise, concluded. Weeks later, Steph is attempting to cope with the same.

During their training camp for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics, Stephen Curry was interviewed by ESPN’s Malika Andrews. The player emphasized that while he would have loved to end his run together with the core group of Thompson and Draymond, unforeseen circumstances came in the way.

“Having Klay head on to Dallas, it’s tough. It’s something I never imagined would be a reality, but you want him to be happy,” said the 36-year-old. “You want him to be able to enjoy the game of basketball. It does suck losing Klay, there’s no two ways around it. You have to be able to celebrate what we accomplished, but then be able to move on.”

Klay Thompson leaving the core group has given Stephen Curry the incentive to follow the same path as well. However, having already been with the team for over 15 years, he might provide Joe Lacob and other members of the Warriors management some relief and continue to stay on. The answer for what’s next will be answered in due course.

Before leaving, be sure to check out some insights that Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, shared about the Lakers legend’s infamous feud with the late Kobe Bryant.