Klay Thompson wearing a jersey other than the Golden State Warriors will take a while to get used to, but we will see him rock the blue of the Dallas Mavericks from October onwards. His departure from the Warriors after 13 years came as a shock to many who thought he'd retire with the franchise. His former coach Mark Jackson weighed in on Klay leaving Golden State, supporting his decision but also the Warriors' decision to let Klay go.
“I think in the ideal world, Klay Thompson finishes his career with the Golden State Warriors. But you know how this business is. The loyalty only works one way, and that’s not a knock on the Warriors, that’s just the way the sports world is. Everybody doesn’t get to sign a deal at the end like Derek Jeter. Truth be told, you look back and they probably should have let him go as great as he was.”
“Klay Thompson is going to be fine, and it’s a great pickup for the Dallas Mavericks. Unfortunately, he didn’t end his career with the Golden State Warriors, but that’s not the way the world works. I’m proud of Klay Thompson because when we drafted him... I’m proud as a coach and as a friend.”
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Thompson averaged 17.8 points on 38.7% from three on 9.0 attempts per game. This constitutes one of the worst shooting years of his career, but Klay was forced into playing a No. 2 option role that his abilities couldn't handle at this stage of his career.
Dallas provides him with plenty of offensive weapons in front and around him, so he could find more team success as part of a more cohesive offensive unit that just went to the NBA Finals.
Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are two of the hardest players to guard in the NBA, which is good news for Klay who will be a corner assassin with plenty of open looks created for him, rather than hunting his own open shots through screening in the Warriors motion offense.
Mark Cuban Thinks Klay Thompson Will Succeed In Dallas
Mavericks minority owner and former governor Mark Cuban gave his thoughts on the Thompson addition on ar recent podcast appearance.
“If you look back at the Finals there were times we couldn't score and it was more of hitting open threes than anything else. Obviously, the big addition was Klay. He's somebody you have to face guard who's going to make 40%.
"In Golden State, he always had to be on the move and they had that motion offense where he was always coming off screens and running. We don't do that nearly as much. Standing in the corner, standing on the wing, and just catch and shoot from Luka [Doncic] and [Kyrie Irving]. Hopefully, his life is gonna be a lot easier, so we’ll be able to defend, make shots, and have a lot of depth.”
These factors would make it much easier for Klay to succeed, but it depends on if he's willing to sacrifice his role to be a spot-up shooter. It might be better for how he can contribute to the Mavs, but it might upset him to take a role like this after a year in Golden State where he was benched multiple times for rookies.
Hopefully, it works out for Klay on the Mavericks, as he'll be motivated to win his fifth ring with such a talented crew of players and coaches around him.
