RIVIERA COUNTRY CLUB in Pacific Palisades is one of those places in Los Angeles where every room — every tree, even — has a famous Hollywood story behind it. Its 12th hole was Humphrey Bogart’s favorite to play and, later, where he’d sit and watch tournaments with a cup of bourbon. The sycamore on that hole was eventually named Bogey’s Tree.
Riviera was also where Tom Brady was spotted right after he retired in 2023 while his then-wife, Gisele Bundchen, took in the Met Gala in New York. The couple had attended that event together many times over the years, so seeing her shine in a feathery white gown on the same day Brady was chipping out of sand traps was the public end of their union, which had dissolved just a few months earlier.
But over the past year, Thompson has been relatively easy to read. He was “miserable,” as one person close to him said. Miserable with how negotiations with the team had gone on a new contract. Miserable at the thought he wasn’t respected or valued by the franchise in the way his older Splash Brother, Stephen Curry, 36, and Draymond Green, 34, were. Miserable at his declining role on the team. And yes, miserable at the way his game and play had declined, as well.
The two years spent away from basketball as he rehabilitated from major leg injuries had forced Thompson to confront his basketball mortality. What his life was without basketball. What his identity was. He bought a boat, not to escape all these thoughts but to move through them even when his body could not. He read dozens of books and did sessions with motivational guru Tony Robbins. Thompson went spearfishing and challenged himself to hold his breath for several minutes.
Thompson had felt disrespected, sources said, that the team didn’t offer him an extension the summer after it won that title. That feeling only deepened the following summer when Golden State was only willing to discuss two-year contracts in the range of $23 million to $24 million, instead of matching the four-year, $100 million deal Green had received.
And so it was that Lacob invited Thompson out to play Riviera in mid-May. There was no set agenda. Lacob just wanted to connect with Thompson and to play. The invitation alone conveyed respect.
But in this case, it was just golf. There was no discussion of contracts or the team. No exploration of why Thompson had been so miserable all year. No drink out by Bogey’s Tree.
If either man had something to say that might have saved what had been one of the best basketball marriages in recent history, this would’ve been the time.
But sometimes there’s nothing left to say. The marriage is already over. All that’s left to decide is how to move on.
The reason for this is fairly simple. After losing to the Lakers in the second round of the 2023 playoffs, the front office wanted to shake up the roster, sources said. But Kerr and the team “fought,” as one source put it, to keep the roster together. Going on a mini 4-1 run before the trade deadline bought the team time to play out the rest of this past season without a major trade. But the results at the end of the campaign — finishing 10th in the Western Conference and missing the playoffs entirely — were more conclusive.
This was communicated to Thompson, sources said, and even though he was not thrilled with the idea, it was not a deal-breaker.
The past two years had been miserable as they both tried to evolve, to accept their new realities. Rather than fight against the dying of the light, why not fight for something new?
Thompson loved watching the Dallas Mavericks run throughout the playoffs this year. He was intrigued by the young Oklahoma City Thunder. He had always wanted to play for the Lakers, in the uniform of his childhood idol, Kobe Bryant.
In the final week before free agency started on Saturday, Thompson met with Kerr in L.A. and told him all this, sources said. He called Green and Curry and told them he wanted a fresh start then asked them not to use their organizational clout to interfere with his negotiations with the team.
Then he called Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. and asked them to help him get to a team of his choosing, via a sign-and-trade, if necessary.
Everyone understood and wished him well. This would be an amicable separation.
Dallas was his top choice. He loved the way the Mavericks played and believed he’d be an ideal fit alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, sources said. He came into a dinner meeting with the Mavericks’ front office having studied tape of the team and already projecting out how he could help them.
The Mavericks were thrilled to get a player of Thompson’s ability and experience on such a reasonably priced contract. The team had a great run to get to the Finals this season, but sources said Dallas felt it needed more veteran leadership to build off the performance.
The Thunder also were interested in Thompson but ended up prioritizing big man Isaiah Hartenstein with their cap space.
That left the Lakers. His father’s team. His idol’s team. LeBron’s team. The team ultimately was willing to offer Thompson more years and more money than he accepted from Dallas. Sources said James was willing to take less and the Lakers were trying to make trades that would’ve cleared four years and nearly $80 million for Thompson.
James had several deep conversations with Thompson about the idea of playing together, sources said.
Dallas seemed like a better place to get that.
Mychal Thompson, who played for the Lakers from 1987 to 1991 and is a radio color commentator for the team, was ecstatic at the thought his son would finish his career with the hometown team. He tried to talk to his son about mooring the boat in Marina Del Rey and living in his new house in Hermosa Beach.
“I’m disappointed,” the elder Thompson told ESPN. “But maybe playing for the Lakers was more my dream than his.”
