In Klay Thompson’s final year with the Warriors, he made a request to Stephen Curry that Steph honored. Could things have ended differently if this request was not a part of the equation?

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Klay Thompson, after 13 seasons in blue and gold, is leaving the Golden State Warriors for the Dallas Mavericks. Since being drafted by the Warriors in 2011, Thompson has been an integral part of the Warriors’ four NBA championships, although the relationship between Thompson and Golden State has seemingly ended on a sour note.

After one of worst, if not the worst, seasons of his career, Thompson had a big decision to make in NBA free agency. Coming off a five-year, $189 million contract he signed with the Warriors in 2019, Thompson could choose to return to the Warriors on a much smaller and shorter deal than the one he signed on the heels of a fifth consecutive NBA Finals appearance five years ago, or he could choose to leave behind his fellow Splash Brother Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and the only team he has known as a pro.

As he was making his decision, Thompson, according to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater, specifically requested his longtime teammate Curry not force the proverbial hand of the Warriors’ front office.

“It’s been a layered five-year path to this divorce, splintering last season, sprouting earlier and finalizing in the last couple weeks, where —among the conversations Thompson had, league sources said — was a request of Stephen Curry not to exert his significant organizational influence and up the temperature with management to ensure Thompson’s return,” Slater wrote. “Curry’s measured voice, even if it altered the outcome, wouldn’t change the genuineness of Joe Lacob and the front office’s true desire to have Thompson back.”

Klay Thompson’s goal in reportedly asking Stephen Curry, the Warriors’ best, most popular, and highest-paid player to not intervene in the negotiations would appear to be a sign Thompson wanted to see if Golden State was truly committed to bringing back the sharpshooting guard. In the end, Thompson apparently found his answer and signed three-year, $50 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks, a team that just reached the NBA Finals, as part of a sign-and-trade deal.