A surprising Klay update suggests that he may have one foot out the door in Golden State

After a messy start to the season, the Golden State Warriors appear to finally be rounding into form. However, a new report adds context to their messy start. Warriors star Klay Thompson has been more inconsistent this year than in the past and that led to him being benched by coach Steve Kerr in favor of rookie Brandin Podziemski. That reportedly led to Thompson yelling at coaches. 

Thompson being upset about being benched shouldn't be all that surprising since he was a key member of six Warriors Finals teams and four championship runs. It also likely came with the realization that he wasn't the same player anymore. To his credit, Thompson has seemingly embraced his role, or at least is acting as though he has and he has played well off the bench.

Is Klay Thompson's time with the Golden State Warriors coming to an end?

The Warriors and Thompson failing to agree to a new contract, his uneven play, and subsequent move to the bench call into question whether he will return after this season. After all, several teams could look to sign him away from Golden State.

Despite that, Golden State re-signing Draymond Green over the summer and extending Kerr for a couple of seasons implies that they are looking to keep the band together. Whether Thompson agrees to return is unclear, but that should give Warriors fans some hope.

If he does decide to leave in free agency, while disappointing, the Warriors appear to have struck late-round gold with Podziemski, who has been a valuable contributor even as a rookie. Moving on from Thompson would also give them the flexibility to retool on the fly.

Of course, they would probably prefer to have him retire as a warrior, but if he still believes that he can be a starter on a good team, then they may not be able to convince him to stay.