Klay Thompson boldly stirs pot with Draymond Green ahead of Golden State return

Sometimes you just get a feeling that certain players are going to play their entire careers with a certain team. Players win championships with the teams that drafted them, and fans live for those storybook endings in which the players ride into the sunset sporting one jersey.

Many people felt that way about Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors, but after a forgettable final season and feeling disrespected by the team, Thompson decided to test the waters of free agency. Thompson drew interest from both the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers, but he ultimately decided to sign with Dallas on a three-year, $50 million deal.

This was the biggest free agency move in franchise history, as Dallas landed a third star to pair alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Thompson has fit excellently so far with the Mavs as he is averaging 14.2 points per game while shooting 36.8 percent from downtown, and his biggest test as Maverick is just a couple of days away.

Thompson's return to Golden State is one of the most highly-anticipated games on Dallas' schedule, and this game could set the stage for one of the best rivalries in the NBA depending on how it goes. Draymond Green has already vowed to "run through his (Thompson's) chest," in this matchup, and some alleged comments from Thompson over the summer towards Green are just going to throw fuel to the fire.

Thompson and Green are setting the stage for a heated showdown

On Green's most recent episode of "The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis," he dove into his relationship with Thompson, and there seems to have been a competitive interaction between the two during Dallas' team trip to Los Angeles over the summer.

Green and the Mavericks happened to be working out at the same gym in Los Angeles, and Thompson saw Irving talking to Green's trainer, and he told Irving "don't be talking with the ops." Green thinks that Thompson was joking when he said this, but knows there was some seriousness to it.

The next day, Green was talking to Irving, and once again, Thompson approached Irving and Green and said "Kai you talking to the ops?"

At that point, Green knew that Thompson was partially serious as the same thing happened two days in a row. Green then doubled down on "running through his chest." Green knows that Thompson is going to bring his best in this game on November 12, and this friendly chatter before is only going to make this game even more fun.

Thompson not wanting Irving to talk to Green shows how locked in he is on being a Maverick and embracing all of what that means, and whether if he was joking or not, he'll be ready for November 12.

Thompson will want to prove to the Warriors that he is still the same player he once was, and there are already several predictions that he is going to dominate this game. He is one of the more competitive players in this league, and while there is still love between Thompson and Golden State, it's going to be all business at the Chase Center next week.

Thompson won't be looking to be anyone's friend in that game, and his full focus will be walking away with a win. He isn't afraid of Green or any of his antics, and both players are feeding into the potential new rivalry that is forming in front of our eyes.