Klay’s departure: The business and emotion of sport

So Klay Thompson is going, leaving us with irreplaceable memories and leaving the Golden State Warriors with a void that will not be filled for a long time, if ever.

Those guys on the fields, ice and floors, they’re more than just the jersey with a team label. They become part of the community, neighbors. People you would want to succeed as much for their satisfaction as your own.    

Sure, Klay was the one who scored 37 points in a quarter, unprecedented, but also was the one who when he was residing in Oakland would stop by a restaurant in the Montclair area for breakfast or later after he moved to Marin would sail his boat around the Bay.

His game had declined to a point where he wasn’t getting the points and thus was made a backup by head coach Steve Kerr. To the Warriors, trapped between a salary cap and expectations, Klay wasn’t worth retaining in that situation.

That’s the business side of sports. Which too often takes control over the emotional side, not that the Warriors, to their credit, did not disregard the emotional side.

“We cannot overstate Klay Thompson’s incredible and legendary contributions to the      Warriors during his 13 years with the team.”

The note was a not-unexpected touch of class from an organization always at the forefront of sports. That is not to be confused with a touch of glass, that occasionally assisted Klay’s shots to reach the basket as he helped the Warriors win four NBA championships.       

Steph Curry, the heart of the Warriors, and Draymond Green will return, but the immediate future seems grim. The experts wonder if Golden State even will make the playoffs much less win another title. The magic word is rebuilding, which for a team that is mediocre—OK, let’s phrase it more delicately, average—takes patience and good luck, meaning a sleeper in the draft.

Some of the folks in the so-called Warriors Nation weren’t attuned until the era of victory parades. No one even referred to them as the Dubs.

Almost nothing stays the same in the NBA, other than the Boston Celtics.

Whether the Warriors had a dynasty is not important. They were winners, and one of those winners was Klay Thompson. Good guy, a great player, and is now a man of the glorious past. 

Sad. So sad.