Mychal Thompson: Expect Klay To Stay With Warriors Long-Term

While Klay Thompson is set to enter the final year of his contract with the Warriors, his father Mychal Thompson doesn’t expect Klay to leave the Bay Area anytime soon, as Scott Ostler of The San Francisco Chronicle details.

“Oh yeah, you can mark it down,” Mychal Thompson told Ostler. “Klay’s going to retire in the Warriors’ uniform. He’s going to play at Chase Center (the Warriors’ new arena, opening in 2019), and he’s not going to be at Chase Center as a visiting player, he’s going to be a Warrior for the next seven or eight years.”

The Warriors are said to be interested in completing an extension with Klay Thompson at some point before he reaches free agency in 2019. He would be eligible for a more lucrative deal if he waits to hit the open market, but there has been speculation that he’d be open to accepting a team-friendly offer worth less than the max. If that’s the case, he and the Warriors could work something out in the coming months.

[RELATED: Steph Curry wants to be a Warrior for life]

Of course, Mychal Thompson’s opinions on his son’s future don’t come with any guarantees. It will be up to Klay whether or not he wants to remain in Golden State for the long term. The 28-year-old is only the third option on a potent Warriors offense that features Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, so the opportunity to be the leading scorer – with a new maximum-salary contract – on another team could be appealing. However, the Warriors provide him the best chance to compete for a title on a yearly basis, as his father points out.

“He’s got such a good thing here,” Mychal Thompson said, per Ostler. “The Warriors have such a special thing here. For the next six or seven years, they’re going to be championship material, they’re not going to break that up. The (1990s) Bulls were broken up too prematurely. (Warriors co-owners) Joe Lacob and Peter Guber aren’t going to let that happen. Are you kidding? They can afford it. They’re the Warriors, this is the Bay Area, they got a beautiful arena, and money’s no object for this team.”

For his part, Klay Thompson has also said in the past that he would like to stick with the Warriors, albeit in more general terms than those used by his father. He maintained that stance during a conversation with Mark Medina of The Bay Area News Group, indicating that he’d like to be a “Warrior for life.”

“Contract negotiations are way down the line,” the four-time All-Star said. “But I think we all have the same interest. I would love to be here for the rest of my career.”

View Comments (20)