Warriors let door hit Klay Thompson on the way out with latest revelation

News broke on Monday that the Dallas Mavericks were the victors of the Klay Thompson sweepstakes. It was almost certain that Thompson was going to leave Golden State as the two sides were nowhere close in contract talks, but it's still strange to think of Thompson wearing a different uniform after spending his first 13 seasons with the Golden State Warriors.

Speaking of the Warriors, what they do without Thompson remains to be seen. They don't have much to work with in terms of money and trade assets, so they're going to have to be creative. One thing that's for certain, though, is that they didn't value Thompson too much if they didn't top a three-year deal for $50 million.

Golden State's plan for next season had Thompson re-signed revealed by Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports only confirms that.

Warriors prove they didn't want Klay Thompson back at all with latest revelation

"Flashing forward, if Thompson had returned to Golden State, the Warriors planned to bring Thompson off the bench behind sophomore guard Brandin Podziemski, sources said, after Golden State started its prized rookie for a good stretch during the second half of last season."

You read that right. If Thompson re-signed with the Warriors, he'd be coming off the bench next season behind Brandin Podziemski. It's not hard to see why Golden State came up with that proposition.

Thompson came off the bench only 14 times in the 77 games he appeared in this past season but was much better in a reserve role, averaging 19.8 points per game on 46.4/42.8/95.7 splits. He was more efficient and even averaged more points per game coming off the bench despite playing fewer minutes. Why that occurred is a mystery, but the stats are the stats. Podziemski also earned a chance to start for this team with how he played in his rookie season.

While he wasn't benched often, Thompson wasn't shy in discussing how he felt being benched at the start and end of games. It's not something he's used to and is not something he's a fan of. He would not choose to stay in Golden State just to come off the bench instead of getting a bigger role on a better basketball team in Dallas like he did.

It's unfortunate that this came to the resolution that it did, but it does make sense. Thompson sees himself as a starting-caliber player and found a contending team that agreed and was willing to give him a lucrative multi-year deal. Golden State just didn't value him like that at all. There was never a chance of this deal coming to fruition, and the Warriors likely knew that.