WHEN HE The Golden State Warriors celebrated inside the home locker room after Stephen Curry's latest heroics, Klay Thompson sat alone at his locker with a towel over his head.
It was February 10, and Curry had just hit a game-winning 3-pointer in the last second to send the Chase Center crowd into a frenzy and secure a 113-112 victory against the Phoenix Suns. He put the Warriors back at .500 for the first time since December.
Thompson's performance (2 of 10 shooting (1 of 7 from deep) in 24 minutes) had been the latest in a series of poor performances by the five-time All-Star. When a teammate tried to console him after the game, Thompson slammed his phone against his locker in frustration.
It has been a tough season for the 34-year-old point guard. His 42.1% field goal percentage is his lowest since his rookie year in 2011-12. He is averaging 17.2 points per game, his fewest since his sophomore season.
Thompson's problems culminated on February 15, when coach Steve Kerr brought Thompson off the bench against the Utah Jazz. It was the first time since his rookie year that he would not be a starter, a spot in the Warriors lineup he had held for 727 games.
But in his debut as a reserve, Thompson provided a big boost in the third quarter. He hit four of his seven 3-pointers in the frame to help the Warriors pull away.
“You can do two things,” Thompson said after the 129-107 victory, “you can pout or you can come out and respond.”
Thursday's matchup against the New York Knicks will be Thompson's sixth game as Golden State's sixth man, a role that was once unfathomable for the four-time champion and future Hall of Famer. But there were signs all season that a change was needed to get him and the Warriors' season back on track.
In 10th place in the Western Conference and 4.5 games out of sixth place, and avoiding the play-in tournament, the Warriors have relied on a starting lineup that includes rookie standout Brandin Podziemski and rising third-year forward Jonathan Kuminga.
Adding them to a starting lineup that includes Curry, Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green has revitalized the Warriors, who were ranked 12th in the West at the Feb. 8 trade deadline. Thompson's new role, which, despite some early challenges, has also helped Golden State get back into the playoff race.
“It's really about finding the best version of our team,” Kerr told ESPN. “[It’s] “It's been this big experimental phase… That experimental phase is not easy.”
THOMPSON INITIALLY DID NOT DO IT take the news well. Kerr told ESPN that Thompson yelled at him and some of the attendees. Later, he again apologized to the coaches.
“It wasn't an easy conversation,” Kerr said. “This is perhaps the hardest part of moving away from our prime. It's just that, after 12 years, [of Thompson starting]It was not easy
“And moving forward won't be easy. But I told him, 'If you really embrace it, you can help your team win.'”
Kerr said the timing of the discussion before the All-Star break would help Thompson process the news, a decision he agreed with.
“Just not watching basketball, not watching sports,” Thompson told ESPN. “It was a complete reset, a huge mental reset. It helped me a lot.”
Thompson spent his All-Star break in Southern California with his parents, siblings and nephew, while also spending time on the water.
“Just being able to continue playing with these guys, that in itself is incredible,” Thompson said of the time he spent reflecting during the break. “It's been a season of evolution.”
This season, Thompson has been candid about his struggles on the court. In a 124-123 loss to the Sacramento Kings on November 28, he scored 20 points but failed to score in the fourth quarter.
When asked after the game if the team needed lineup adjustments, Thompson snapped: “What? You're going to bench me?”
There were also his comments after the 109-98 Feb. 5 win over the Brooklyn Nets, during which Kerr had rookie guard Gui Santos finish the game on Thompson.
“I feel great physically… Mentally, probably a little different story. But that's life,” Thompson told reporters at his locker after the game, only for Draymond Green to chime in from across the room. about being benched at the end of an NBA Finals. game, saying, “So who cares?”
These moments were less about frustrations with the team and more about his own level of play, according to a source close to Thompson.
“He feels like he's letting everyone down,” the source told ESPN. “He doesn't want to be a burden. He wants to help. He wants to feel valuable.”
1:47
Are the Warriors contenders for the NBA title this season?
Mike Greenberg and Monica McNutt react to Draymond Green's statement that the Golden State Warriors are title contenders this season.
THE PASSAGE FROM THOMPSON TO the bench has helped him remind the league that he is still a dangerous three-point threat. He has made 45% of his three-pointers in his first five games as a reserve after shooting just 27% of his three-pointers in the previous nine games.
“The idea of him coming off the bench as our flamethrower is a pretty powerful weapon,” Kerr said.
Thompson's bench shooting aside, Kerr has said he likes the way Podziemski “connects the game” and compliments the starting lineup with Curry, Green, Wiggins and Kuminga. Among the league's 70 five-man lineups that have played at least 100 minutes this season, the Warriors' starters rank third in net efficiency (plus-21.6).
With Thompson in the lineup instead of Podziemski, the efficiency rating remains solid, but drops to +10.2, which ranks 17th in the entire league.
“Now we're leaning on these young people, which is also great,” Thompson said. “It's very difficult to maintain the elite level we play at. So you have to trust your team as a whole.”
But there have also been false starts for Thompson. In the February 22 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, the first game after the All-Star break, Thompson scored a season-low three points. In Sunday's 119-103 loss to the Denver Nuggets, he scored 23 points in the first half but went scoreless in the second half.
However, Thompson has led the team in scoring in three of his five games off the bench, including Tuesday's 123-112 victory over the Washington Wizards. He has also found connectivity within the second unit, particularly veteran center and three-time champion Kevon Looney. Thompson has shot 12 of 15 from the field, including 9 of 10 on 3-pointers, coming off a ball screen set by Looney, according to Second Spectrum tracking.
With guard Chris Paul back in action after missing six weeks due to a hand injury, Kerr will now have to reintegrate another future Hall of Famer into the Warriors' second unit.
“Trying to mix and match groups to find the right groups is difficult,” Kerr said. “It's not always clear to me or our staff who we should play because we have a lot of guys who are at similar levels and they all deserve to play.”
ONE DAY BEFORE Before the NBA trade deadline, Thompson stood in the center of a group of reporters in the visitors' locker room after a 127-104 road victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, where he said he wanted to remain in the only NBA team he had played for.
Thompson, who is making $43 million this season, will become a free agent this summer for the first time in his career. Negotiations over an extension began last summer, but no agreement was reached. A league source told ESPN that those talks never got to the point where different dollar amounts were being thrown around; instead, a range was presented to Thompson.
There is an understanding that a max contract (Thompson is eligible for a four-year, $223 million extension) is not realistic. A league source told ESPN that money and roster status are not driving forces for Thompson, and he remains open to a shorter-term deal.
On Wednesday, Kerr officially signed a two-year extension, aligning him with the remaining two years of Curry's contract. Getting Thompson a deal that would also align him with those two would be a viable option, the league source added.
The Warriors are trying to avoid a costly summer. Team owner Joe Lacob has said he wants to position the team to avoid paying the luxury tax next season, which means being under the projected $172 million salary cap. The team could decline Paul's option for next season, which would save $30 million and make him an unrestricted free agent.
Thompson's fate depends on how the organization approaches these contract talks and how much they want to keep the core of the dynasty together, similar to what Kerr said about his new deal.
“We have an era that's coming to an end and another that's coming. We're trying to merge them and make the most of that,” Kerr told reporters after making their deal official.
But like his new role on the court, Thompson has accepted that the final phase of his Hall of Fame career could be different from now on.
“Whether I wear the Dubs uniform or another uniform, I'll be myself,” Thompson said after that game in Philadelphia. “I'm going to be KT.”
