How Klay Thompson Addition Rounds Out the Dallas Mavericks

Every NBA season concludes with one team winning it all, and the other twenty-nine teams falling short. But perhaps the team that hurts the most at the end of it all is the runner-up, which makes it farther than all but one, falling short in the NBA Finals.

This past season, that team was the Dallas Mavericks. Finishing fifth in the Western Conference, they managed to take out the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder, then roll through the Minnesota Timberwolves. But on basketball’s biggest stage, they lacked the team to get past the Boston Celtics, as they were beaten in five games.

Not complacent with running it back, the Mavericks have pulled off one of the biggest trades so far this offseason: trading for Klay Thompson. The Golden State Warriors legend will now have a new home to presumably finish his career with, and his acquisition perfectly rounds out the Mavericks as they seek to not only return to the ring next postseason but finish the job.

Mavs Add Thompson

Thompson was acquired by Dallas as part of a three-time sign-and-trade

Once the NBA’s free agency period began on June 30, the floodgates opened for massive blockbuster trades to occur, severely shaking up the landscape of the league as we knew it last year. One of those blockbusters was the Mavericks acquiring Klay Thompson via a sign-and-trade.

In the NBA, a sign-and-trade is a type of deal that allows a team to sign an unrestricted free agent to a new contract, and then immediately trade them to another team. This is exactly what occurred with Klay Thompson, although the exact details of the assets given up will take some time to become public as the deal is still being finalized.

The Mavericks acquired Thompson for three years and $50 million, which was the most they could offer, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. It is also known at this time that the sign-and-trade involved three teams, with the Mavericks sending Josh Green to the Charlotte Hornets in the deal. It is yet to be determined what the Warriors will receive in return.

Last offseason, the Warriors offered Thompson a two-year, $48 million deal. However, Thompson rejected it, betting on himself that he would outplay it. He did not end up having a career year, leading to his value being diminished.

But Thompson’s new contract is slightly higher in overall value than the previous one the Warriors offered him last offseason, which he rejected. The average annual value for the rejected contract was much higher than the one Thompson ended up signing with the Mavericks, as that one would have been $24 million per year as opposed to the $16.6 million in the current one.

Solidified Contender

The signing makes an already legitimate contender even more solid

Despite Thompson being in the latter stages of his career, there is still plenty left in the tank and enough to help the Mavericks get over the hump. The 34-year-old shooting guard averaged 17.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game last season, while shooting 43.2 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from three-point range.

Those numbers are nearly identical to his career average, which has seen him average 19.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists over his 11 years with the Warriors. His shooting was slightly down last year, as his career average is 45.3 percent from the floor and 41.3 percent from three-point range, but those are still terrific numbers that will give Dallas a huge advantage in the shooting department.

Klay Thompson – 2023-24 vs. Career Stats

Category
2023-24
Career

REB
3.3
3.5

AST
2.3
2.3

FG%
43.2
45.3

3PT%
38.7
41.3

Injuries have not been kind to Thompson, as he has missed significant time over the past few seasons. He missed two straight seasons (2020-21 and 2021-22) due to a torn left ACL and ruptured right Achilles, respectively. It is not out of the realm of possibility that he could experience more injury issues as he ages, but that is a risk the Mavericks were willing to take.

The Mavericks are a win-now team, and Thompson surely fits right into that picture. He made up half of the ‘Splash Brothers’ duo along with Stephen Curry for a reason, as he possesses a deadly three-point shot. He led the league in three-point shots in 2023, with 301, and last year had 268 — not bad.

Thompson will mesh with one of the league’s current best duos in Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving, giving Dallas a true Big Three. The first three rounds of the playoffs showed how deadly the duo of Doncic and Irving can be, particularly in the shooting department. But Irving going a bit cold in the Finals showcased some concerns — Thompson will fill that void.

Finally, Thompson is a proven winner: four championships speak for themselves. He brings valuable experience to a Mavericks team seeking to get over the hump and win their first title since 2011. This will be a high-risk, high-reward move for the Mavericks, and if it works out, the reward will be glorious.