Earlier this offseason, rumors began circulating that the Los Angeles Lakers could be in play for veteran wing Klay Thompson, one of the greatest shooters in NBA history. It was believed that the Dallas Mavericks were looking to move on from him and that he would welcome a return to Southern California where he was born and raised.
Of course, he already has a big tie to the Lakers with his father, Mychal Thompson, being a former player and champion, as well as the team’s radio commentator. Unfortunately, he was unable to convince his son to join the Lakers as Klay signed with the Miami Heat after being bought out by the Mavericks. And Mychal has now come to the realization that he has no influence on his son.
“What kind of influence do I have on [Klay’s] opinion? Isn’t it obvious? None,” Mychal said in an interview with Locked On Heat. “I wanted him to be [on the] Lakers. I thought the Lakers would be perfect for him the last three years.”
Mychal has been trying to recruit Klay to the Lakers for years now with the most likely possibility being in the summer of 2024 when he signed with Dallas.
“I wanted him to be [on the] Lakers; I thought the Lakers would be perfect for him the last three years, especially when he became a free agent a few years ago, when the Lakers are pursuing him heavily,” Mychal said. “I thought he’d be perfect at the time to team up with LeBron and Anthony Davis to provide that outside shooting, along with Austin Reaves, that we needed.”
At the end of the day though, Mychal has a theory of why his son won’t join the purple and gold.
“The only thing I could figure out is, since I work for the Lakers, and I travel with the Lakers, I guess he just doesn’t want to be on the road with me, in the hotel,” he said. “He doesn’t want me knocking on his door to be checking on curfew, make sure he’s there. So I guess that’s why he figured, ‘I’m not going there to have my dad follow me on the road!’”
Adding a shooter of Klay’s capability would have been a no doubt boost for the Lakers. While he is technically coming off a “down” year, he still shot 38.3% from 3-point range on more than seven attempts per game. That is an excellent year for just about anyone else, but for Klay that was the lowest percentage he’s shot in his career. But in fairness to him, nobody at his age wants to have their father following them around on road trips checking in.
Kudos to Mychal for his best efforts in trying to convince Klay to join the purple and gold, but he simply wants to carve out his own path and will continue his career in Miami where he hopes to compete for a championship once again.
Lakers potentially ‘in the mix’ for free agent forward Bruce Brown
The Lakers have missed out on a couple of recent targets in free agency with not only Thompson, but also Jonathan Kuminga. But the Lakers still have their eye on another free agent forward, one whom they’ve coveted for a long time, in Bruce Brown.
If you love our reporting, choose LakersNation.com as a preferred source on Google.
