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The Golden State Warriors are hoping there are no hard feelings with Klay Thompson after his sign-and-trade to the Dallas Mavericks this summer.
Thompson was welcomed back to Chase Center on Tuesday with a tribute video featuring former teammates, including Steph Curry and Draymond Green.
“It was an honor to play with you for 13 years,” Curry said in the video. “I’ll always remember every memory we were able to create as teammates and the Splash Brothers. … I hope you get the hero’s welcome that you deserve.”
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who coached Thompson from his hiring in 2014 to the guard’s trade this summer, told Thompson that he was “an icon in this franchise.”
“Your statue will be outside Chase one day,” Kerr told Thompson in the video. “Thank you for all the championships, all the incredible moments. The person you are, the teammate you are. I loved coaching you, and welcome back.”
Meanwhile, Green noted how strange it was to be playing against Thompson after spending 12 seasons alongside him.
“‘Welcome back’— I never thought I’d be saying those words to Klay,” Green said in the video. “I’m thankful, I’m honored, to have been your teammate, to call you a brother… Welcome back home, brother. Well-deserved. Take your flowers, because you earned every single last one of them and some more.”
Kevon Looney offered a less emotional look at the situation. “Good luck. I’m going to foul you,” he said cheerfully.
Thompson’s representatives reportedly asked for approximately a two-year, $40 million deal from the Warriors before seeking other options in free agency. He is currently averaging 13.8 points per game through 10 starts for the Mavericks.
The veteran earlier this week said he wasn’t emotional about returning to face the team where he spent 11 seasons and won titles in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022.
“It’ll be good to see people you grinded with… but to me, it’s just another regular-season game in November,” Thompson told reporters on Sunday. “Obviously, there are bigger implications with the NBA Cup. So, that’s on our mind and on my mind, is to win that.”
The Warriors aren’t taking as pragmatic of an approach to the reunion. The team is conducting a giveaway in Thompson’s honor along with a pregame celebration before the Mavericks and Warriors tip off on Tuesday night at 10 p.m. ET.
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