Klay Thompson had his first press conference since signing with Dallas during free agency, ending his historic 13-season run with Golden State.
The four-time champion was asked what it’s like leaving the Warriors after spending his entire career there.
“I was probably a little disappointed at first,” Thompson said Tuesday. “But then as time goes on, you have a lot of time to reflect and realize what you did; they can’t take that away from you as far as the championships … sometimes breakups are necessary to do what’s right. I’m not the first athlete in the NBA to go through this.”
After some cold negotiations with the Warriors brass, Klay wanted to start fresh with a new team and explained how excited he is about it.
“Coming here is just such a fresh start,” Thompson said. “Feeling just wanted again, like I bring great value, it just gets me excited to go out there and even work out after this press conference and get shots up. Yeah, there was times last year where it was tough, where it wasn’t as joyful as it was in the past.
“It’s nice to kind of shed that and have a whole new fresh start, whole new group of guys to get to know, co-workers, whole new city. It’s really cool, and I’m going to embrace the heck out of this opportunity.”
The 34-year-old made it clear he has one goal in mind.
“I’m not into breaking more shooting records,” Klay said. I want to win, at this point… I’ll make sacrifices for the team, but as long as we play winning basketball, that’s all that matters.”
He’ll be teaming up with Kyrie Irving for the first time, as well as Luka Doncic.
“I’ve always been a fan of Kai’s game and guarding him was hell,” Thompson said. “It’s nice to be on the other end of that for once.”
He added, “I don’t think you can stick to me as much as you could in the past with guys like Luka and Kai out there. That’s what also was very attractive for me.
“I’m just excited. I still think I can do what I’ve been able to do… I know I can help this team, whether it’s the knowledge I’ve gained or big scoring nights. I just still know I can be a very, very good player in this league.”
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