In a twist, the sentence you're about to attempt to read was not written by Shams Charania. This tangled mess was found in the middle of an article written by The Athletic's Anthony Slater, who chronicled the split between Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors after 13 seasons. Try to follow along:
It’s been a layered five-year path to this divorce, splintering last season, sprouting earlier and finalizing in the last couple weeks, where — among the conversations Thompson had, league sources said — was a request of Stephen Curry not to exert his significant organizational influence and up the temperature with management to ensure Thompson’s return.
The Athletic
That's a doozy. So there's a layered path, some splintering and sprouting, then ... finalizing? Meanwhile, this path (which was falling apart and regrowing) was the place for conversations between Thompson and his now-former teammate Steph Curry. But it was headed toward divorce the whole time. Tragic.
Maybe it's easier to understand as an illustration. We tried that before, and it didn't work, but why not try it again? Here is Klay's Divorce, 2024, with pen and paper:
Hm, no, that doesn't help.