Free agent guard Klay Thompson has agreed on a three-year, $50 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks, ending his historic 13-year run with the four-time champion Golden State Warriors, sources told ESPN on Monday.
Thompson’s deal was largely inspired by the chance to compete for a fifth title with the Western Conference champion Mavericks.
The deal, negotiated by his agent, Greg Lawrence of Wasserman, required a multiteam sign-and-trade that sends Mavericks guard/forward Josh Green to the Charlotte Hornets and two second-round picks to the Warriors. Dallas is sending its own 2031 second-round pick in the deal, a source said.
Lawrence and Thompson met with Mavericks GM Nico Harrison and VP Michael Finley at the Bottle Inn in Hermosa Beach, California, to dig into the details of a Thompson-Mavericks partnership.
The Lakers were extremely intriguing to Thompson, but the financial savings from living in Texas over California and the fact that the Mavericks came within three victories of an NBA championship were big factors in his decision, sources said.
In the final season of Thompson’s remarkable 13-year Warriors career, his relationship with the franchise became increasingly strained over contract discussions and his looming free agency. His departure became more and more likely as the season progressed.
His unhappiness grew as his role with the team fluctuated throughout the season — punctuated by him being pulled from the closing lineup in early February and moving to a bench role later that month.
Thompson, 34, averaged 17.9 points last season, his lowest since 2012-13.
His Warriors tenure ends with his place in franchise and NBA history cemented. The trio of Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green accounted for 518 wins in the regular season and playoffs, sixth most by a trio all time. Their 98 playoff wins together rank third in NBA history and their four titles are tied with Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker for the most by an All-NBA trio over the past 50 seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
The Boston Celtics majority ownership group, led by Wyc Grousbeck, is planning to make the franchise available for sale.
Grousbeck and partner Steve Pagliuca led a group that purchased the team in 2002 for $360 million. Since then, franchise valuations have skyrocketed, with the latest teams to sell controlling shares being the Phoenix Suns, which went for $4 billion to Mat Ishbia in February 2023, the Milwaukee Bucks, with Jimmy and Dee Haslam paying $3.5 billion several weeks later, and the Dallas Mavericks, with the Adelson and Dumont families paying $3.5 billion in December.
The Celtics are one of the iconic franchises in professional sports, with an NBA record 18 NBA titles — trailing only the New York Yankees (27) and Montreal Canadiens (24) among all North American professional sports leagues.
In a statement announcing the decision Monday, the Celtics revealed that the managing board of the ownership group expects to sell a “majority interest” in the team either this year or early next year, and that it “expects Wyc Grousbeck to remain as the Governor of the team until the second closing in 2028.”