Warriors Could Reunite With Klay Thompson: Would the Homecoming Actually Help Golden State?
The Splash Brothers might be getting back together. And the timing is not an accident.
Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer reported Tuesday that the Golden State Warriors have “excitement” about potentially reuniting with Klay Thompson this offseason. Fischer added that Thompson has previously had interest in teaming up with LeBron James, who remains a top free agent target for Golden State.
Read between the lines. This is a package deal pitch. The Warriors want LeBron, and they know one of the ways to get him is to hand him a shooter he has quietly admired for years.
Would it work on the floor? That is the real question.
Thompson spent 11 seasons in Golden State from 2011 to 2024. Five All-Star selections. Two All-NBA nods. Four rings. Six Finals runs. Splash Brother iconography with Steph Curry. Immortal in the Bay. He left in free agency in 2024 after his situation reportedly turned toxic on both sides.
Dallas has not been the redemption story he needed. Klay has been at or near career lows in his two seasons with the Mavericks and just endured an ugly 26-56 campaign. He is 36 years old and still under contract for $17.5 million next season. The three-point shot is still there. The lift and the sideline creation are gone.
Any Warriors reunion has to happen through a trade or a buyout. Dallas is not simply going to release Klay for nothing. There would have to be a package the Mavs would take, or a mutual agreement to eat some salary to send him back home. Neither is trivial.
The pitch to LeBron would be blunt. Come to Golden State. Play with Steph and Draymond. Watch us bring Klay back to close games, spread the floor, and give you the shooting gravity you have been missing for years. It is Larry O’Brien or bust in Year 24.
Would LeBron bite? Cleveland, Miami and Philadelphia are the three teams ESPN’s Shams Charania named as his focus. Golden State was previously in the top group before the Sixers landed Jaylen Brown. The Warriors need something to move back to the front of that line. A Klay reunion could be a real chip.
On paper, a lineup of Curry, Thompson, LeBron and Green plus a fifth is fascinating. It is also older than dirt. That group’s ceiling depends on health, minutes management and Steve Kerr finding a workable defensive scheme with two 36-plus wings who no longer switch cleanly.
The Warriors have been in this exact conversation before. Every summer for the past few offseasons has featured some version of “can we get Steph one more shot?” This one has a different shape because LeBron is actually available and Thompson is actually attainable. Both were fantasy in previous cycles.
There is no scenario where a 36-year-old Thompson turns into 2019 Klay. That guy is gone. But a version that shoots 40 percent from three, plays hard on defense in stretches, and takes his role next to Curry seriously? That guy still exists. And in the right playoff series, that guy still tilts the floor.
The prodigal Splash Brother returning home would be a great story. It would also be a smart basketball move if the Warriors can pull it off without gutting their depth. The bigger question is whether it is enough to change LeBron’s mind.
Golden State is betting yes.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
