Mychal Thompson knows he should feel happy that his son, Klay Thompson, earned a $50 million contract with the Mavericks during the 2024 NBA offseason.
However, he can't help but find himself wishing that his son would have signed with a different team.
"I’m not feeling too much in a congratulatory mood right now," Mychal told SiriusXM Radio's "The Starting Lineup" hosts Brian Scalabrine and Frank Isola on Tuesday.
That team would be the Lakers, the same franchise for which the elder Thompson played from 1987-91 and the one for which he works as a radio color commentator.
"When he told me that the Lakers were talking to him, or going to talk to him, and the Mavs too, you know, obviously I tried to sell playing for the Lakers," Mychal explained. "Obviously, that’s the right thing for me to do and the proper thing for me to do. And I felt like it was the correct thing for me to do because I really believe in this franchise. The franchise has been so good to me and my family, including Klay."
MORE: Full details of the Klay Thompson sign-and-trade
Why Mychal Thompson wanted Klay Thompson to play for Lakers
Thompson went on to elaborate that his son grew up a Lakers fan and "idolized Kobe Bryant" in his younger years.
"So I just thought it seemed like it would be the perfect fit for him to finally come back home," Thompson said of Klay's decision. "'Cause we always talked about him playing for the Lakers, if he was not a Golden State Warrior, where else would he wanna play? And of course, being a fan of Kobe’s, he would’ve loved to have played for the Lakers."
"I'm not feeling too much in a congratulatory mood."
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 2, 2024
Mychal Thompson had hopes that his son, Klay Thompson, would join the Lakers.@champagnennuts | @TheFrankIsola | @Scalabrine pic.twitter.com/8TH9bV3Ktw
While Klay did grow up a Lakers fan, he found it hard to turn down the opportunity presented by the Mavericks. Dallas had made the NBA Finals the previous season and has a young star in Luka Doncic on the roster along with a solid veteran star Kyrie Irving.
Add in the lack of a state income tax in Texas, and it seemed like a great fit for Thompson on his $50 million deal.
As such, the elder Thompson understands why his son went with the Mavericks — even if he was hoping for Klay to join the Lakers.
"I’ll live with it," Mychal Thompson told Scalabrine and Isola. "I accept it and I’m happy for him that he’s happy with his decision. But yeah, of course, I tried to sell him on the Lakers."
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Still, the decision will sting a bit, especially since Thompson won't get a chance to call as many of his son's games in the twilight of Klay's NBA career.
"Obviously, it’s Klay’s decision. It’s his life," Mychal said. "He’s a grown man, 34 years of age, just like we were 34 at one time. And our fathers used to give us advice and, you know, we would choose our own path and that’s fine, that’s what life is supposed to be about. But I was, I’m really disappointed. I was hoping, as you can assess, that he would be a Laker. And it was close. It came down to the Lakers and the Mavs, but the Mavs won out.
"But you know me, I was hoping and praying he’d finish his career with the Lakers."
