Draymond Green says the media is setting Klay Thompson up for failure by treating his move to Miami like a return to his prime Warriors form.
Draymond Green is pushing back on the way Klay Thompson’s move to the Miami Heat is being framed, arguing that expectations should reflect where his longtime former teammate is in his career. Speaking on The Draymond Green Show, Green said the coverage around Thompson has made it sound as if Miami is getting the 2017 or 2018 version of the four-time NBA champion.
“I don’t like how everybody’s trying to act like, ‘Oh man, it’s Klay Thompson. Klay to the Heat,’ like this is Klay of 2018,” Green said, according to NBC Sports Bay Area. He added that he believes the buildup could make it easier for critics to attack Thompson if he does not produce at the level he did during Golden State’s championship runs.
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Green said he would rather see Thompson’s role compared to Ray Allen’s late-career stint with Miami, when Allen joined a title contender as a veteran shooter instead of being asked to function as the primary star. “Let’s stop acting like 2017 Klay is going to Miami,” Green said, stressing that Thompson is entering Year 16 and has dealt with major injuries over the course of his career.
The comparison is especially relevant because Thompson himself has welcomed references to Allen since joining the Heat. Miami signed the 36-year-old after his buyout with the Dallas Mavericks, giving the team another proven perimeter shooter alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo.
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Thompson averaged 11.7 points in 21.7 minutes per game last season, his lowest scoring average in a full NBA campaign. Green’s point was not that Thompson can no longer help a contender, but that his impact should be judged against a reduced veteran role rather than the All-Star standard he set at his peak.
Green and Thompson spent more than a decade together with the Warriors and won four championships alongside Stephen Curry before Thompson left Golden State in 2024. Their history gives Green a particularly personal stake in how Thompson’s next chapter is discussed, and he made clear that he does not want the excitement around Miami’s roster to turn into an unrealistic measuring stick.
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