Klay Thompson physically left the Warriors as a free agent in the 2024 offseason. But the sharpshooter may have spiritually checked out at some point during the 2023-24 season.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has admitted that Thompson displayed “signs” of wanting to leave the franchise last season.

“Yeah, there were signs,” Kerr told “The TK Show” recently. “Obviously, none of us knew what would happen, we all wanted him to stay. I wanted Klay to be a Warrior for life — it felt like the right thing for us. But you never really know what the right thing is for someone else, only that person knows. And I think by the end of the year, I think Klay knew, for his own sake, that he wanted to leave.”

Kerr also expressed happiness for his longtime teammate for joining the Mavericks, predicting that Thompson will get “a lot of open shots” playing alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

It’s worth noting that Thompson never truly committed to staying in Golden State in interviews leading up to his free agency. During an April 8 chat with Draymond Green, he said he would “prioritize mental health” in free agency over loyalty or familiarity with a situation.

As such, he didn’t truly backtrack on a statement like several stars over the years who committed to a franchise only to renege. Some of those examples include Irving leaving the Celtics in 2019 or DeAndre Jordan leaving the Clippers in 2015.

To Thompson’s credit, he remained a pro throughout the 2023-24 season even while coming off the bench for the first time since his rookie year. The Washington State alum supported then-rookie Brandin Podziemski — who took his role in the starting unit — and refused to view his new role as a demotion.

Still, Thompson’s career in the Bay ended on a sour note as he went 0-of-10 from the field in the Warriors’ season-ending loss to the Kings in the play-in tournament. Perhaps that final flameout was meant to be.