Most of the time, the questions that revolve around Warriors swingman Klay Thompson focus on his playing future. The four-time All-Star and three-time champion is eligible for a $188 million extension this offseason if he re-signs with the Warriors, while others have pushed a hunch that he might head to greener pastures in his native L.A. or another team in need of a sharpshooter.
That’s not what’s happening this week, however. Rather, Thompson is looking even further ahead, to his future after his playing days. Surprisingly, he already knows what he wants to do, too.
“I definitely want to help out with the youth,” Thompson told the San Francisco Chronicle. “With high schoolers — you get them when they’re young and impressionable and steer them the right way. That sounds appealing to me.”
Thompson was opening up after being asked about his own high school coach, longtime Santa Margarita (Calif.) High School basketball coach Jerry DeBusk, who coached his brothers and himself to success in Southern California. Thompson is scheduled to honor DeBusk at the Coaching Corps Game Changers Awards Wednesday, paying homage to the man who helped chart his course to NBA stardom, even if DeBusk never truly saw it coming.
“I was just trying to get him and his teammates ready for success at the next level,” DeBusk told the Chronicle. “I told my staff, we’re doing these kids an injustice if we don’t establish a fundamental foundation.
“At first it was surreal. But now, nothing Klay does surprises me.”