Getty Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors talks with Klay Thompson #11.
Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry finally broke his silence on Steve Kerr‘s stunning decision to move his “Splash Brother” Klay Thompson to the bench before the NBA All-Star break.
In a sit-down interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews, Curry opened up and sympathized with his longtime backcourt mate.
“It was weird,” Curry told Andrews. “I’ve come off the bench a couple of times and seen him start, so it was weird to switch roles.”
Curry notably came off the bench for the Warriors during their first-round series win against the Denver Nuggets in their title run in 2022 following a foot injury. The two-time MVP was the Warriors’ 6th Man in the first four games, before rejoining the starting unit in the series-clinching Game 5.
But Thompson’s case is different.
The five-time All-Star is completely healthy yet his up-and-down season marred with shooting struggles and uncharacteristic mental lapse forced Kerr’s hand.
These Warriors reactions to Klay’s late-game foul 😬
“For him, there’s only one way for him to respond: the way that he did,” Curry said. “I think there’s been a lot of narratives around his season and since he’s come back from his injuries – a lot unfair.”
‘Natural Evolution’
Thompson fired a season-high 35 points in his first game off the bench since his rookie year.
Klay Thompson came off the bench and made a big-time impact tonight 🔥
35 PTS | 6 REB | 7 3PM
The veteran wing embraced his new role, drawing inspiration from Manu Ginobili, whose Hall of Fame career was built on being the 6th Man of the San Antonio Spurs, the NBA’s dynasty that came before these Warriors.
“I think the natural evolution of all of our careers is trying to figure out how to continue to win, but it might look a little different,” Curry said. “The way that he responded is the Klay Thompson that I know — the true competitor, the true dawg. He got pissed off and said, ‘Watch this.’ I think a lot of it is just knowing who he is.”
While Curry continues to sustain his all-time greatness this season despite at the age of 35, the 34-year-old Thompson often looks slow and no longer defends like he used to be pre-ACL and Achilles tear years.
It doesn’t help that Thompson is under pressure to perform this season as he enters unrestricted free agency this summer.
Klay Thompson Draws Interest From Magic
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Orlando Magic are emerging as a potential landing spot for Thompson in the offseason.
“Something to file away: Orlando has been increasingly mentioned as a potential suitor for Thompson in free agency.
The Magic’s available cap space is difficult to project this far out. That figure could rise as high as $45 million but depends on their future plans with free agents-to-be Markelle Fultz and Gary Harris as well as Jonathan Isaac (whose $17.4 million salary next season is non-guaranteed),” Stein reported in his February 20 substack newsletter.
The Magic are projected to have the third-most cap space in the offseason.
A rising team in the Eastern Conference, the Magic are looking for veteran leadership and outside shooting to complement their young stars Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. The 30-25 Magic are currently last in the league in 3-pointers made, averaging just 10.9 per game on a 29th-ranked in 3-point accuracy ( 31.3%).