NBA
Warriors owner promises to build statue for Klay Thompson once he retires
![klay-6682f83e3e73d](https://www.basketballinsiders.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/klay-6682f83e3e73d.jpg)
Golden State owner Joe Lacob, who once claimed that his franchise was “light years” ahead of the rest of the NBA, has never been shy of voicing out his feelings or even criticize other teams around the league. After two years of failing to conquer another title, he said this week that he grew accustomed to his dynasty and feels it’s been a “long time” without titles.ย
However, it really hasn’t, as the Warriors’ last championship came just two years ago. On The Athletic NBA Show podcast Tuesday, Lacob mentioned how hard it is to make trades happen in today’s modern NBA, when trying to explain why it was so difficult to keep Klay Thompson in the Bay Area.
โIf I could share anything with many of the fans out there โ and I read everything, you know, I read what people say, the criticisms and the positive things โ they donโt understand how hard it is and how illogical some of the parties on the other side are sometimes,โย Lacob said.
Joe Lacob on Klay Thompson: โI hope weโre gonna be friends foreverโ @unstoppablebaby https://t.co/iMT7RtXB4k
— SB Nation NBA (@SBNationNBA) July 17, 2024
With the new CBA in motion, negotiating with players has entered unknown territory. โMaybe weโre illogical too, to some extent, but my point is itโs just really, really hard to pull these things off. And everyone writes all this stuff and they have no idea what the other side is asking for in some of these things,โ he assured.
Despite this, the Golden State owner promised to honor Thompson once he decides to retire, with a statue built outside Chase Center. He also guaranteed that the Warriors will have to “kick his ass” when they meet competing next season, but he hopes they will remain “friends forever.”
โIโm pretty excited about where we are right now,โ Lacob added. โAm I satisfied? No. Never. Weโre always going to be in the market to improve our team. Always. Always. I donโt care what team we have. If we can get someone else and work out a deal that makes us better? Great, we will. Weโre always looking. Weโre going to be the most aggressive team in the league.โ
The Warriors have now traded in athletes like Buddy Field, Kyle Anderson and DeโAnthony Melton, while they still hope to acquire at least one more player that will fit to their shooting and defensive style. However, the GM Mike Dunleavy doesnโt believe this fourth star will come any time soon.
Golden State general manager Mike Dunleavy โconfidentlyโ says that Steph Curry will be a โWarrior for lifeโ
As Stephen Curryโs contract is set to end in Golden State after the 2025-26 season, he is eligible to extend for an extra year this summer. However, as the player is currently concentrated in Team USAโs pursuit of the gold medal in the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris, this negotiation remains on the clubโs to-do-list until he returns from action.
Nevertheless, the All-Star guard has made it clear that his desire is to remain a member of the only NBA franchise heโs ever played for until he retires. And now it seems that the Bay Area front office is on the same page. The clubโs general manager has revealed his intentions around Curryโs future this weekend.
โThat guy can get whatever he wants,โ Mike Dunleavy said in a news conference on Friday. โItโs been a sprint here getting through the draft and free agency and summer league, but all of that will get figured out. Steph, I think I can say pretty confidently, that he will be a Warrior for life.โ
โI think it would have been hard to run the same team back,โ the GM explained. โAlthough 46 wins is pretty good, we didnโt make the playoffs. But this isnโt something where itโs like broken completely. We just need to tune some things up. I think weโve been able to do that, and weโre excited about this group.โ