Klay: Staying with Warriors is 'first and foremost' priority

For the foreseeable future, so long as they keep their preposterously talented core together, the Golden State Warriors figure to hold the rest of the NBA in their collective palm.

Because pondering the Warriors' indefinite iron-fisted rulership of the league can be a dispiriting exercise, it's become popular to speculate on how their empire might ultimately fall apart. Given that Klay Thompson is widely viewed as the team's fourth-best player and is set to be an unrestricted free agent in 2019, and given how expensive keeping the whole team together is going to be, he's who many expect to be the first domino to fall.

Thompson, though, is intent on remaining a Warrior.

"Anything I can do to stay with the Warriors is first and foremost," Thompson. told Mark Medina of the Bay Area News Group. "God willing, it happens. If not, I don't even think about that."

When the Warriors signed Kevin Durant two years ago, Thompson famously said he wouldn't be "sacrificing s---" despite the addition of another ball-dominant superstar. He's proven himself correct, putting up similar scoring and shooting and usage numbers since Durant arrived. Those numbers have all dipped slightly this year, but it's clear that Thompson, despite being one of the finest two-way players in the game, doesn't mind being a glorified role player.

"Realizing you can't do anything by yourself is the first key to success," he said.

Thompson's father, Mychal, similarly said that the decision in 2019 will be the Warriors', not Klay's, to make.

"His future depends on Warriors management and Warriors ownership," Mychal told Medina. "He wants to stay there and has no intention of leaving. He has no desire to leave. As long as he's producing and playing well, he's hoping the Warriors want him as much as he wants them."

Warriors general manager Bob Myers has probably run through every possible permutation of Thompson's future in his mind, but he takes comfort in knowing how badly the All-Star shooting guard wants to stay put.

"That's a great thing to hear," Myers said.