Thompson vows Warriors contract situation won’t be distraction this season

Klay Thompson is entering an important part of his NBA career.

The four-time champion will play his 13th NBA season with the Warriors, which also happens to be a contract year for Thompson as he is set to be a free agent in 2024.

Thompson is looking at this season with a clear mind, though, and guaranteed the pressure that comes with a contract year won’t be a distraction over the course of the season.

“It’s not going to be a thing,” Thompson told The Athletic’s Anthony Slater. “The fact that I’m going into my 13th season — that alone — it gives me such peace of mind. Granted, I’ve made money, I’ve been able to take care of my family, myself, the people I love. But when I started playing this game, I never once thought I’m playing the game because I’m going to be rich and famous. Never did.

“I played this game because my dad played. I idolized him. My favorite athletes were hoopers. Kobe [Bryant]. Clyde Drexler and Rasheed Wallace, guys I was able to watch growing up. Reggie Miller. I just wanted to do something I loved for a living. It happened to be basketball. The fact I’m doing it for a 13th straight season is amazing.”

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Last offseason, Thompson confessed it was hard for him to step on a basketball court and play pickup games because of the back-to-back season-ending injuries he suffered the years before that. That changed this summer.

Thompson has been putting in the work all offseason while staying just as mentally prepared as he is physically.

And Thompson isn’t the only one entering the final year of his contract. Warriors coach Steve Kerr is, too.

First-year general manager Mike Dunleavy shared an update on where things stand with contract negotiations with both Thompson and Kerr.

“With those guys, the main thing that’s good is that on both sides I think there’s a desire to extend or be back or make sure those guys are in the fold with the Golden State Warriors moving forward,” Dunleavy stated on Sept. 25. “So I think both sides feel that way and when you’re working off of that idea, I think you can come to a deal. So hopefully we can do that.

“In those scenarios, there’s no real specific timeline in the immediate future that we have to abide by so we’ll continue to have conversations but the main goal is to secure those guys moving forward and I think they feel a little bit of the same. We’re optimistic and I think we’re in a good place there.”

It’s safe to say Thompson feels the same.

“Yes. Absolutely. I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else, Thompson told Slater. “To play for one franchise, man? That’s so rare. In any sport. Football. Baseball. Basketball. Australian Rules Football. To play for one club is insane. It’s some real legendary stuff. Even what Udonis Haslem did. He’s revered in Miami. Locally. That’s what I cherish. Going around the country, going around the world and people from Northern California or Warriors fans in general are just so prideful about the Warriors.

“And I was here before banners were hung up. So in a way, it’s our baby. You want to ride it out. I’ve just been so lucky to be a part of this franchise. It’d be so hard to envision myself in another uniform.”

Last month, Warriors owner Joe Lacob told The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami on “The TK Show” that he expects Thompson to be back with the Warriors after the 2023-24 season.

“Look, we’ve had some very brief discussions at this point with his agent, but they’re very, very early,” Lacob said. “I think we’re all still adjusting to figuring out what our financial situation is, our cap space situation. They’re going to, from the players’ side, logically have to attest to what the free agent market might be because they’ve earned the right to be free agents if they’ve played out their contracts.

“And they have to look and see what options they might have. So I think there’s a little bit of that going on at this point, but I fully expect we will have some substantial discussions soon. And we’ll see if we can put something together that allows Klay to be here for a long time, which we clearly would like him to be.”

No matter what happens, Thompson is devoted to the present and helping the crew he hopes to be a part of for years to come earn their fifth NBA title in 10 years.

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