Golden State Warriors prepare to move on without Klay Thompson

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — For as long as he can remember, Andrew Wiggins has considered Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson synonymous with the Golden State Warriors.

Now, Curry's Splash Brother is wearing a Mavericks uniform. Thompson joined Dallas in July, departing for a three-year, $50 million contract, a huge loss for the team and Bay Area fan base after the guard's 11 seasons and four NBA titles with Golden State.

“It’s going to be different for sure, on and off the court. Klay is a big presence, and when you think about Golden State, you think about Klay, you think about Steph, you think about Draymond,” Wiggins said Monday at media day. “I feel like he’ll always be that guy. We are all going to miss him and we know he’s going to do great things over there.”

The 34-year-old Thompson was the Warriors' 11th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft out of Washington State and averaged 19.6 points. Among all the brilliant performances, he had a 60-point game and a 37-point quarter.

The veteran guard missed more than 2 1/2 years — the entire 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons — recovering from surgeries on his left knee and right Achilles before returning in January 2022 and calling the recoveries from consecutive injuries one of the hardest and most grueling things he’d ever done.

Big man Kevon Looney noted that Thompson's contributions to the Warriors went beyond his shooting and “his spirit is always going to be missed.” Thompson offered a thoughtful farewell on his social media.

“It’s not going to be easy,” Looney said. “... It's something you can't just replace but I think we have the people and the character in the locker room to move forward.”

Looney worked on his 3-point shot at UCLA — where he shot 41.5% back in the day going 22 for 53 in his lone college season of 2014-15 — this summer but won't be “hunting 3s,” saying, “I'm not going to be out there like Klay or somebody.”

Moses Moody is still playing his daily chess game on the phone with Thompson, who has a little win streak going.

“That's my dog, good dude,” Moody said. “That goes to show, just because he’s not from our team no more doesn’t mean the relationship changes. It’s not a loss in that sense. He’s still my friend, still get to hang out with him and talk to him.”

Yet after missing the playoffs last season as the No. 10 seed, this still marks a fresh start for the Warriors. They had an afternoon flight to Hawaii ahead of their first training camp practice Tuesday on Oahu's north shore.

That time all together this week will be especially key for the new faces, and Jonathan Kuminga is looking forward to “sharing a great time with my teammates.”

“You just learn from everybody,” said well-traveled guard Buddy Hield, who joined Golden State on a four-year contract. “It’s Hawaii, of course, but I think that getting all the guys and just learning about them and be on the plane getting to know the guys. It’s a long season. You’re around these guys more than your families. I’m excited to be around them for sure.”

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Janie Mccauley, The Associated Press