Born and raised in California, Klay Thompson watched his father Mychal Thompson play for the Los Angeles Lakers for five seasons.
While Thompson will become a free agent and the Lakers will have a max-contract slot available for him or others, it appears he is focused on re-signing with the Golden State Warriors.
However, Thompson understands the magnitude of LeBron James signing a four-year, $154 million contract with the Lakers in free agency.
As the Lakers and Warriors played their final two preseason games against each other, Thompson was asked about seeing James in his hometown team’s jersey, via Nick Fridell of ESPN:
“I think it’s pretty cool,” Thompson said of seeing James in a Lakers jersey. “I don’t think you would have guessed it when he was with the Cavs when he started his rookie season, but it’s adding a ton of interest in the league, and the Lakers are about to get the usual media coverage that I was used to growing up.”
For the Lakers, they reportedly favor Thompson over Kawhi Leonard in 2019 free agency. While Leonard is the better overall player, Thompson would be the perfect fit next to James and the young core.
As for Thompson, it is difficult seeing him leave the Warriors who are looking to win their fourth championship in five consecutive NBA Finals appearances. However, stranger things have happened during the course of an 82-game season.
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