Ex-Warriors star Klay Thompson gives cryptic answer about future with Mavericks

Klay Thompson of the Dallas Mavericks celebrates a 3-point shot against the Chicago Bulls during the first half at American Airlines Center on April 12, 2026, in Dallas. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

It's been a tumultuous time for Klay Thompson since he left the Golden State Warriors for the Dallas Mavericks. And as his second year in Big D comes to an end, the sharpshooter is acknowledging the uncertainty ahead of the final year of his contract.

Thompson and the Mavs wrapped up their season on Sunday with a win over the Chicago Bulls, but ultimately missed the playoffs with a brutal 26-56 record - a full 11 games behind the Warriors for the final play-in spot.

When Thompson joined the Mavericks on a three-year, $48 million deal, they were coming off of an NBA Finals appearance. But no team has gone through a more dramatic shakeup in the NBA since that time - with the Mavs first trading Luka Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis last year, then dumping Davis to the Wizards this season. Those moves were clearly at the top of the inquisitive ex-Splash Brother's mind when he was asked if he anticipates being in Dallas next season.

"Oooh, hard hitter," Thompson quipped. "I'm not sure. I mean, I'm under contract, so I do. But I've definitely learned in my time in Dallas that things can change on a dime."

In classic Thompson form, he wasn't done with his answer there and continued with a big-picture perspective: "I'm just here to have a great time and put my best foot forward. ... That's the hardest part about being an NBA player. They think they pay you for the records broken or the rings won, but it's really they pay for being able to be traded, being on the road away from your family on a consistent basis, going through injury and all the stuff that the common fan doesn't really see that really makes it difficult."

Thompson's numbers have continued to decline as he's reached his mid-30s. Now 36, he played a career-low 21.7 minutes per game and also had career lows in most major per-game stat categories: points (11.7), rebounds (2.1), assists (1.4) and starts (eight in 69 games). But while his 3-point field goal percentage was also a career-low 38.3%, that number still had him in the top 60 for the entire NBA.

And Thompson is also starting to make a dent on career NBA leaderboards, too. With 12 points in Sunday's finale, Thompson officially moved into 100th place on the NBA's all-time points leaderboard with 17,346 career points. Thompson's 202 3-pointers this year brought his career total up to 2,899, which should put him in position to become just the third player in NBA history to reach 3,000 career 3-pointers next season.

But what uniform Thompson will be wearing when he accomplishes that is, even to him, a bit of a mystery as the NBA playoffs begin. And with a $17.5 million salary for his final year on his contract that should be easy for most teams to trade for, Thompson clearly understands he could be on the move this offseason.

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This article originally published at Ex-Warriors star Klay Thompson gives cryptic answer about future with Mavericks.