"He did not worship at the feet of LeBron James" - Skip Bayless cites JJ Redick's head coach gig as reason for Klay Thompson opting out of Lakers
Klay Thompson is headed to Dallas to play with the Mavericks, starting next season. The former Warriors star spent the first 13 years of his honored career in Golden State and now lands with an exciting franchise led by Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
Thompson reportedly turned down an offer from the LA Lakers before picking the Mavericks. Veteran analyst Skip Bayless tried to shed light on this decision, claiming JJ Redick's hire played a role in Thompson's decision.
"I think Klay heard that from his father, I think Klay thought, 'JJ Redick is the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers? I don't want any part of that.' And one thing I always loved about Klay Thompson: out those Golden State Warriors, he was the one guy that didn't worship at the shrine of LeBron James. He did not worship at the feet of LeBron James.
"Draymond did... Draymond is all about LeBron. I think Steph sort of rarely embraces LeBron. They've been competitive for MVPs, Finals MVP, but the one guy who really wanted nothing to do with LeBron was Klay Thompson," Bayless explained.
The LA Lakers were reportedly in the race to land Thompson, but the Mavericks made a last-minute move and lured him away from Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively.
Klay Thompson turned down offers from Warriors, Lakers to sign with Mavericks
Klay Thompson reportedly had meetings with the LA Lakers, Golden State Warriors, and Philadelphia 76ers before making his final choice. The now Team Bahamas player reportedly turned down a four-year, $80 million deal from the Purple and Gold and a two-year, $40 million offer from the Dubs.
In the end, he picked the three-year, $50 million bid from the Mavericks, who are coming off a season where they reached the NBA Finals after beating notable opponents in the Western Conference playoffs.
Nick Wright criticizes Lakers' lack of moves this offseason
Another controversial analyst, Nick Wright, criticized the Lakers for their lack of moves this offseason. In the wake of the Thompson news, the FS1 analyst called out Rob Pelinka for his approach to this year's free agency.
“Rob Pelinka, at the [trade] deadline when they [Lakers] didn’t make a move, he said, ‘We didn’t make moves because we wanna be able to have three tradeable first-round picks in the offseason and have maximum flexibility.’ And now, they have struck out once again.
“By any definition, it’s been a failure,” Wright added.
Klay Thompson is ready to start a new chapter in his career and the Lakers hope to start something good with JJ Redick at the helm.