Klay Thompson's Karma

I know everyone is so hyped about the new and improved squad. So am I. But I just gotta get this off my chest.

You know what they say, pride comes before the fall. And right now, Klay Thompson is learning that lesson the hard way. The same guy who bristled at coming off the bench, who felt disrespected by the mere suggestion that he wasn’t the same player he once was, who wanted more money and more minutes, is now shackled to a Mavericks team that looks more like a hospital ward than a contender.

How the basketball gods have a sense of humor.

The Dubs treated Klay with reverence. They paid him a max contract to rehab, they waited patiently through years of injuries, they let him start even when it was clear he had lost a step. And yet, that wasn’t enough. Klay needed his minutes. He needed his respect. He said he needed to get paid again, as if that was somehow more important than the dynasty.

So off he went to Dallas, where he is now desperately needed. They have no Luka, no Kyrie, no AD. No depth. No hope. There's talk they might have to forfeit games. They need Klay to be the 2019 version of himself, to play heavy minutes, to carry a load he is simply no longer built for. And what does he have to show for it? A handful of nice shooting nights and a play-in appearance, if theyre lucky. The Luka trade condemned the Mavs to exile. Klay has a front row seat.

This was Klay’s choice. He bet on himself, and for that, I suppose we should give him credit. But he also turned his back on the franchise that loved him, that cared for him, that understood him. And now he finds himself wandering the NBA wilderness, no longer the perfect third option (imagine him on this roster instead of Buddy), no longer a beloved Splash Brother, but a man fighting to prove something that everyone already knows isn’t true.

Basketball karma is real. And Klay is living it.