Klay Thompson to end sparkling Warriors career and join Mavericks on $50m contract

Klay Thompson will end his career with the Golden State Warriors, where he earned a string of NBA titles and All-Star appearances, with a contract with the Dallas Mavericks, sources say.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Monday that Thompson will sign a three-year, $50 million contract with the Mavericks, who reached the NBA Finals last month, where they lost to the Boston Celtics. Thompson, who played 13 seasons with the Warriors after they drafted him No. 11 overall in 2011, reportedly turned down more lucrative offers from other teams because he wanted to join a title contender. The Associated Press reported that the deal will be conducted as a sign-and-trade involving the Warriors, Mavericks and Charlotte Hornets. Mavericks guard Josh Green will reportedly move to Charlotte as part of the deal.

The 34-year-old won four NBA titles with the Warriors and was a five-time All-Star. He also formed the all-time best backcourt shooting duo with Stephen Curry. Thompson shot 41.3 percent from three-pointers in his Warriors career and is sixth on the all-time list for three-pointers made. He missed the entire 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons with injury, but helped the Warriors to a title when he returned in 2021-22.

Though still far from the player he was at his peak, he has played in 77 of the Warriors’ 82 regular-season games in 2023-24, the most since 2016-17. Last season, however, marked the first time he came off the bench since his rookie campaign and he shot 38.7 percent from three-point line, the second-worst percentage of his career.

In Dallas, he teams up with Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving, against whom he played in several NBA Finals when Irving was still with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Elsewhere, the Boston Celtics and All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum finalized a five-year, $314 million supermax extension in what would be the largest deal in NBA history. according to ESPNThe deal comes after Tatum helped the Celtics win the NBA title this summer, the 18th in franchise history.