‘KLAY’S NOT HAPPY!’ – Richard Jefferson after Klay Thompson’s emotional postgame | NBA Today

‘KLAY’S NOT HAPPY!’ – Richard Jefferson after Klay Thompson’s emotional postgame | NBA Today

I cannot wait for our trade deadline special on Thursday does that take and give you I don’t like it he doesn’t like it no I think we should make it 6 hours I think we should make it a full day ESPN how many of those hours are you

Going to work it I I’ve been trying to negotiate it down but right now I I’ve negotiated it to four hours oh okay I I appreciate that Richard uh Mike Golden State to be one of the teams that is active at our trade deadline right now

They are in 11th place they were in Brooklyn last night with the true of Steph clay Draymond they picked up their 500th win together only the ninth Trio ever to do that right so here is how it happened Richard watch Jonathan kaminga here posts up and then hits a nice

Little jumper that’s tough man he needs more space look this is the thing when you get when kaminga starts to improve his basketball IQ which he has all season long they become a much more dangerous team that just doesn’t I mean the physics of that Steph shot don’t

Even make sense Steph Curry this is his bread and butter at this point Austin off a step back people don’t understand how difficult that is to do a step back from that deep over cled over that is nuts Warriors up by 10 Steph low English on the inside right there and then just

Over two minutes to go here finds Draymond Draymond once again finds kaminga for a little Baseline dunk and then under two minutes to go here Warriors up Curry hits the floater Warriors win 10998 kaminga had 28 points 10 rebounds Curry had 29 Points five rebounds yeah B stuff so what they

Talking about you ain’t play to finish the game I got V game five of the finals who the cares well I haven’t asked that yet but I will now feel huh I said I haven’t asked it yet but I oh you feel like you about to

For uh I mean you OB you didn’t close tonight that’s obviously going to be a story I mean it’s all good these guys played great G played great PP Jonathan and day winning trumps off yeah I was is this is this an adjustment period for you a little bit I mean he’s

Done it a few games obviously yeah kid me go from you know one of the best players it’s hard for anybody you know I’ll be honest with you so this was the fifth time clay was subbed out in the fourth quarter and did not play in the final 5 minutes of

Clutch time under Steve Kerr for them they have come this season and then the other came in January of 2022 that’s when Thompson was returning from his multiple injuries if you remember um this is kind of tough it it felt a little bit it’s not I’m wrong no no it

Is tough for a player it’s it’s tough that’s what I mean yeah yeah that’s why it is tough it’s tough as a player but I I stand by this there is a there is his his ability has gone down but I think Clay’s not happy I think that’s what you

Can see a lack of joy in his face one of the most raw post game interviews I’ve seen in 20 years I wouldn’t go come bro let’s not over 20 years 20 years said that I hear what you’re saying 20 years Brian do you see what he I mean

Basically he in front of us is coming to terms with the fact that he’s on the Downs side of his career he’s you know you think he just now realized that in that moment well I I think this is from the outside looking in just from the

Outside looking in right and I I’ve never been in your guys’ shoes but Klay Thompson has been someone who has been honest with us time and time again and I don’t know a player who necessarily wears his identity so wrapped up in this and shares it with us the way that he

Does and so to see that happen in real time I kind of it felt to me it’s happened multiple times this season where he’s been vened on the stretch somehow it felt worse and maybe a little bit more critical in last night’s game yeah look if you look at his stats he is

Averaging 17 points he’s shooting 37% on threes on high volume he’s still a better than average Defender there are teams out there that would kill for a player like that amen he is an excellent you know key player he’s just not a superstar anymore y so that

Happens Richard at one time was a 25o a game score at the end of your career you came with a seventh man yeah like okay it happens it just doesn’t always happen when we’ve watched these three guys win 500 games so we have seen him win 500

Games and it’s happening as his emotions are pouring out of him in front of us on TV it’s not a rare thing it’s just something that we don’t get to see very often my thing is this one of the other trios was Manu Tony and Tim we saw Tim

Act or we saw we saw actually leave the team we saw Manu become a shell of who he was but they had other players around you had kawhai you had other guys look this is a part of basketball I understand it is a vulnerable place to say this I don’t klay’s averaging 17

Points a game at on 37% and Kay’s not happy Klay doesn’t have a contract in my opinion if Klay had gotten that contract done you could up the points by two you could up the percentage by two because he’s in a much better place so all of

This is not just on clay and how he’s playing mentally Clay’s not as sharp and that’s part of what you’re talking about the drop down and this but part of it is because he’s not happy and he’s been upset for a very long time that this contract hasn’t gotten done and it

Doesn’t help when you see other contracts like Draymond not that they’re tied together but you see Draymond get his deal I’m saying you see Draymond get a deal then they offer you deal you don’t feel like it’s your value like you said there’s a lot of teams that would

Love to have high volume at 37 not at 40 million a year I’m I don’t know what the number was at least this isn’t the you know new situation for him in terms of having struggles he’s had he’s I don’t want to say notorious but he’s had

Plenty of Seasons where he’s had slow starts he’s had slumps that have gone for a long time 37% is not terrible especially for a guy that could go like we know two three weeks where he’s hot and gets his percentage up to 40s again yeah completely capable uh and he’s he

Would be an asset on just about every competing team in the league all of them would like a guy like Klay Thompson so you got to understand their situation their playing style has changed Kingo the way he scores it’s different traditionally he’s New Gen scoring the way they score it’s not the traditional

Ball movement uh Spurs warrior style basketball so there are a little bit of changes that could be affecting his play right now and his name has been in the trade talks for the very first time which is very new for him in terms of serious at this level and you know this

Is a new adjustment for him he’s going to have to just kind of just play through well but that but that’s kind of the the point right is that yeah he’s gone through this before he’s gone through slumps maybe it hasn’t extended this far maybe it hasn’t been one of the

Worst shooting seasons of his career which this has been right even though it’s by his standards right not by the rest of the league but the Warriors are not playing good basketball they are losing when Steph Curry is scoring 60 points and so that’s when all this

Becomes a little bit more acute and we’re 48 hours away from the trade is why if Steve Kerr feels like he’s got to bench clay and play GE Santos which is what ended up happening last night to get a win he’s got to do it right that’s

What’s got to happen but now that we’re 48 hours away from the trade deadline I do not expect to see Klay Thompson God we’re not going there no no you don’t trade Klay Thompson there we go yeah so what are the Warriors going to do so I I

Know there’s been some discussion about there about whether they could trade Chris Paul I I don’t think that’s going to happen I I do think Andrew Wiggins also Jonathan kaminga is playing the best basketball’s career they’ve boosted his his playing time by about eight minutes a game over the last 10 games

He’s pretty much untouchable right now I think it’s like it’s like Steph and kuminga and then everything else yeah I think Wiggins is the piece if they can find something but Wiggins is having his arguably the worst year of his career he’s in the first year of a four year $8

Million contract this is not when you trade somebody yeah right um like they could do a trade but I don’t know if it makes sense so I I you know you just hope he plays better the kind of the second half season build up it’s not

Something you want to hear if you’re a Warriors fan you say take action but in action might be the best course agree they’re they’re in a bad spot look we we can’t gloss over the fact Kinga has played well of late played best basket but they missed missed out on a big

Opportunity in that draft in that Draft when it was wisan kaminga these guys have not panned the way they should and those were supposed to be the guys that ushered in that new generation of warrior basketball and they have four wings let’s not I mean let’s let’s not

Just fine they have four rings clay has four rings they’re doing just fine but clay will be the first person to tell you that taped up in his locker is every single person who has won five rings from a San Francisco Chronicle article he still has that he still looks at that

Four rings tens of millions of dollars he wants to see his name know but he wants to see his name there and we want to see the Golden State Warriors in action which we will in our NBA Saturday Prime Time matchup on ABC and the ESPN

App Devon Booker and the Suns they take on Steph and the Warriors at Chase Center coverage tips with NBA Countdown at 8 Eastern whole lot of buckets whole lot of [Applause] [Applause] buckets

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Brian Windhorst, Richard Jefferson and Austin Rivers join me on NBA Today to react to the Golden State Warriors’ 109-98 win over the Brooklyn Nets and Klay Thompson’s vulnerable postgame interview where he admitted to being out of it mentally after being benched for the final 7 minutes of the game. They also discuss whether or not the Warriors may deal away Thompson ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline.