Mychal Thompson tried his best to get Klay Thompson to join the Los Angeles Lakers, as evidenced by a childhood photo.
Mychal Thompson spent the better part of five seasons of his 13-year playing career with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he won two NBA championships. His son, Klay Thompson, was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the 11th-overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. There was always a hope in Los Angeles that Thompson could eventually sign with the Lakers.
On Saturday, Mychal tweeted out a photo of a young Klay donning a Lakers hoodie, imploring the fan base that he tried his best to bring him to Los Angeles. But as he says in the caption, the Warriors “got to him first.”
Lakers: Mychal Thompson shows he tried recruiting Klay to the Lakers from a young age
You have to give Mychal credit, he tried to bring “Klay to the Lakers” into existence from a young age. It just never worked out.
The Lakers’ best chance to acquire Thompson was in the summer of 2019, when his four-year, $69 million contract expired. The sharpshooting guard was always going to command a huge contract since he had three NBA titles with the Warriors on his resume, but it was up to him where he would sign. The issue was that Thompson suffered a torn ACL in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals.
Even though he suffered an injury that knocked him out of the entirety of the 2019-20 season, the Warriors re-signed Thompson to a five-year, $189 million contract. He has yet to play a game on this lucrative contract, as he tore his Achilles tendon just before the start of this campaign.
The dream is not entirely over for Mychal and the Lakers, because Klay becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2024. Could that finally be the time where the Lakers can pry Thompson away from the Warriors? Check back with us in three years.