It may feel like Klay Thompson's departure from the Golden State Warriors is in the very distant rearview mirror, but the reality is, the breakup happened just two offseasons ago. While Thompson's tenure with the Dallas Mavericks may not have panned out as most fans hoped, there's no shortage of intrigue around his expected role with the new-look Miami Heat in 2026-27.
But what if Thompson had never left the Warriors? It may have seemed like an unlikely scenario at the time, but apparently, things may have gone differently had former general manager and president of operations Bob Myers still been in town.
Myers stepped down from his roles with the Warriors in May 2023, just over one year before Thompson left in free agency for the Mavericks.
During a recent conversation with Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady on FanDuel's Cousins podcast, Myers was asked if he's ever been in a situation where his emotions got "the best" of him regarding a decision, and while he said it hadn't, he also admitted that if he had stayed in Golden State, it might have. Myers specifically pointed to Thompson's departure in free agency, as well as Steph Curry and Draymond Green.
"It never did, but had I stayed in Golden State, it might've," Myers said. "Like if I had to move off of Klay, I might've had a hard time with that. If I had been there and had to do something with Draymond, or Steph, or something like that, that would've been personal because of what we went through together. Guys like Iguodala, Livingston, guys that won multiple championships..."
"There's not 10 of them, but there's a few guys where I would have a hard time— I think I would still do the right thing for the organization, but it would be really hard...When you win and win multiple championships with people that played and gave everything and changed my life personally, not the organization's, mine, how can I not let that affect me? There would've been, could've been situations where it got there."
It's a refreshingly honest take from Myers on Thompson, and it's also one that's entirely understandable considering what he went through with the Warriors' core three during their title runs.
However, it's always interesting to wonder how things would have looked or played out had Thompson never left the Warriors. Unfortunately, we'll never know, and after he signed with the Heat, it doesn't appear we'll find out how a reunion could look either.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Bob Myers admits that Klay Thompson's Warriors exit may not have happened
