The Golden State Warriors built one of the strongest teams in NBA history. They didn't sign players, they didn't spend big money to get them there. They got them in the Draft and developed them.
And, while Steph Curry has often gotten most of the credit, none of his accomplishments would've been possible without Klay Thompson by his side.
But all good things come to an end. And, according to Kendrick Perkins, that's the case with Thompson's time in the Bay.
Per the former champion, Jordan Poole's rise has forced the Dubs to move on from Thompson:
"Hell, yeah! Yes, they should. If I'm the Golden State Warriors and I'm looking at a young star on the rise in Jordan Poole and I'm looking at Klay Thompson," Perkins said on First Take. "This is no knock on Klay Thompson. But at some point, you're gonna have to let Jordan Poole be the best he can be right now. But at some point, you've got to move forward and start to build. At some point, every good thing has to come to an end."
Klay spent two years on the shelf with major injuries and Poole is now a better scoring option than him, which is why coach Kerr can't afford to take him off the court:
“When you’re a player and you’re coming off an injury and your team has had success in the season before you got back, you’ve got to come in and not try to step on toes,” Perkins added. “That’s why Steve Kerr couldn’t yank Jordan Poole or yank the minutes, take the ball out of his hand.”
Perkins isn't the only one who feels that way. Per Colin Cowherd, the Los Angeles Lakers should make the most of this opportunity and reach out to the Warriors to try and land Thompson:
“The Lakers are not going to be patient, that’s not what the Lakers are going to do, so I’ll throw this at you,” Cowherd said. "You call up Golden State and say, ‘Jordan Poole is becoming a star, you know it, everybody knows it, and you’re looking at Klay Thompson’s contract going ehhh. We will take Klay Thompson, give us James Wiseman, a big who can’t stay healthy, he’s a project, we’ll take him. We will take those two headaches, Jordan Poole will solve one of the headaches, and we will give you Anthony Davis, and that solves the other headache. “
Even so, Thompson has spent his entire career with the Warriors. He's a team legend already and will have his jersey retired and a statue in front of Chase Center once it's all said and done.
So maybe, Joe Lacob and Bill Myers will never pull the trigger and show him the door.
