Thirteen Years! That’s how long Klay Thompson has worn the Warriors uniform since the very first day of his NBA career. However, his Hall of Fame journey in Golden State might be nearing a heartbreaking end after his drastic downfall this season. With him becoming an unrestricted free agent this summer after the expiration of his five-year contract, there is declining hope about Klay playing another game for the Warriors. And despite his teammates and the head coach wanting him back another year, Bay Area’s own Mark Willard shut down Stephen Curry and Co.’s dreams due to one specific reason.

Discussing Klay’s potential return on The Willard and Dibs show, Mark said, “I feel like Klay Thompson wants to leave… I don’t think he wants to spend the rest of his time being compared to his former self. You have no choice but to do that here. That will never happen anywhere else.”

While averaging nearly eighteen points and over two assists might be considered a great season for the majority of the players in the NBA, Klay has set such a standard for himself because of his past that these numbers made many fans believe that his career was done. Despite Klay beating his Splash Brother Steph to become the league leader in free throw percentage, the NBA World criticized his shooting stroke. And Willard believes if Klay stays in Golden State, he will continue to be unfairly compared with his former self when he used to singlehandedly takeover games.

After all, Klay is the same player who scored 37 points in a quarter, has a record fourteen threes in a game, and dropped a sixty-piece with only eleven dribbles. And because of his superhuman performances, fans cannot comprehend watching him in the Warriors uniform as an above-average catch-and-shoot player.

Should Klay Thompson leave the Golden State Warriors?

“To be honest, I really haven’t given it much thought.” Klay’s comments about his future in Golden State after getting eliminated in the play-in tournament seemed like even he wasn’t sure if he would be returning next season. One thing is for certain for him to return, Klay will have to take a massive pay cut from his previous five-year nearly $190 million contract. Before the season started, the Warriors reportedly offered Klay a two-year $48 million extension, which he denied. But now that his performance has declined even more, even going scoreless in the elimination game against Sacramento, his contract value might go down even further.

Meanwhile, NBA Insider Shams Charania believes that Orlando could be the next destination for Klay, which could lead to a much bigger paycheck. “The Magic can open up an excess of sixty million dollars in cap space this off season… One name to keep an eye on, Klay Thompson, I’m told there is mutual interest between the Magic and Klay Thompson.” And that would even be a great fit for both sides as Klay could be a perfect veteran presence to develop Paolo Banchero’s young squad which made it to the playoffs this year.

Moreover, moving to Orlando will give Klay a chance to take on a new role and get the monkey off his back of living up to his past self. But there is still a desire in Klay that might lead him to stay in Bay Area, “One for the thumb will be nice.” Despite the recent failures, Klay has a belief that they can make another run to a title and win their fifth ring. So, it might come down to some hard choices for Klay before he makes his decision later this summer. What do you think Klay should do?