"Man, tell 'em to pay me my money" - Richard Jefferson shares his private conversation with Klay Thompson last Christmas

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The 2024 NBA free agency has seen some surprising moves, but none of them might be as shocking as the end of an era for the Golden State Warriors. Former core player Klay Thompson opted to leave the Bay Area, which he had called home for almost 13 years, to join the Dallas Mavericks.

For some folks, Thompson's splitting with the Warriors was imminent, as evidenced by the parties' inability to see eye to eye on the terms of a potential contract extension. Richard Jefferson recently revealed that the disconnect between Klay and the organization had existed even during the middle of the 2023-24 campaign.

"I've never shared this before out of respect to Klay," Jefferson said. "... This is on Christmas Day of...this past year. I get off the elevator. I see Klay, 'Klay, what's up?' I was like, 'Hey, man. Keep your mentals right.' He's like, 'Man, tell 'em to pay me my money.' This was on Christmas Day."

RJ defending Thompson

Jefferson was adamant that the Warriors should have ponied up and gave the five-time All-Star the money and years he was looking for. The retired swingman asserted that Klay helped establish the Dubs into a championship-winning squad and increase its value to worth billions of dollars.

It doesn't matter to RJ that Golden State had paid Thompson handsomely despite missing two full seasons or that he had a disappointing 2023-24 campaign, more so in the team's season-ending loss to the Sacramento Kings in the play-in tournament.

The writing was on the wall

If Jefferson's story is true, then the Warriors had plenty of chances to appease the sharpshooter and might have had no plans of budging from their stance in the contractual negotiations. The good news for Thompson is that he seems to have found a new home that would not take advantage of him and provide him with more opportunities to add to his collection of rings.

Perhaps it's also for the best that Golden State parted ways with its former No. 11 pick. After all, the team reportedly intended to have him come off the bench in favor of youngster Brandin Podziemski, which was the case in 14 of his appearances last season.

Moreover, there just weren't enough minutes and touches for the supporting cast around Stephen Curry, especially because Moses Moody also looks primed to feature more prominently in their rotation, and Jonathan Kuminga has proven he can be the Warriors' No. 2 scoring option.