Klay Thompson unhappy with Warriors over their handling of him?
Jun 5, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) warms up before game two of the 2022 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
After already paying visits to the NBA 75 selection committee and to “2K” heaadquarters, Klay Thompson’s Misery Tour is making another stop.
Speaking with reporters after Tuesday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr revealed that Thompson has grown frustrated with the minutes restriction that the team has imposed on him.
“Klay’s frustrated that he can’t play more right now,” said Kerr, per Jason Dumas of Bleacher Report. “He’d like to have his minutes bumped up.
“His minutes will stay the same [though],” Kerr added. “He’ll be frustrated because he’s Klay. But he’ll be fine. The thing I love about Klay is he always comes back around, even if he’s frustrated in a bad way about anything. He is such a great-hearted human being that things turn back for him because that’s kind of the way he makes the best of things.”
Thompson has been held under 28 minutes in every game so far this season (playing a season-low 18 against Phoenix because he was ejected for a dust-up with Devin Booker). As a result, Thompson is really struggling to find his rhythm with 11.0 points per game on a dismal 35.6 percent from the field through four games (which would be career-low marks).
Though Thompson was able to handle 36.0 minutes per game in the playoffs last season, the Warriors are making the right decision here. Thompson will be turning 33 in a few months, has suffered multiple devastating injuries, and is playing in October for the first time since 2018. While Thompson seems to be angry about a lot these days, Kerr sounds confident that his unhappiness over the minutes restriction will eventually pass too.
