Klay Thompson should help the Mavericks diversify their offense alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
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The Mavericks have completed a sign-and-trade deal with the Warriors for five-time All-Star guard Klay Thompson.
Golden State receives two second-round draft picks for Thompson, while the Charlotte Hornets take back Dallas shooting guard Josh Green to help facilitate the deal. It was later combined with a sign-and-trade for Kyle Anderson and Reggie Jackson’s move from Denver to Charlotte.
The first 6-team trade in league history breaks down as follows:
- Mavericks receive:
- Klay Thompson
- 2025 second-round pick
Timberwolves receive:
- 2025 second-round pick
- 2031 second-round pick swaps
- cash considerations
Warriors receive:
- Kyle Anderson
- Buddy Hield
Nuggets receive:
- Cash considerations
Hornets receive:
- Josh Green
- Reggie Jackson
- 2029 second-round pick
- 2030 second-round pick
76ers receive:
- 2031 second-round pick
Thompson was a key part of Golden State’s dynasty as the team won championships in 2015, ’17, ’18 and ’22 and reached the NBA Finals in 2016 and ’19 as well.
In 2023-24, Thompson averaged 17.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists per game while shooting 43.2% overall and 38.7% on 3-pointers. Overall, it marked the first season in which Thompson played in 70 or more games and failed to average at least 20 ppg since 2013-14 when he posted 18.4 ppg.
Thompson is sixth on the NBA’s all-time 3-pointers made list with 2,481, behind Reggie Miller (2,560), Damian Lillard (2,607), James Harden (2,940), Ray Allen (2,973) and Thompson’s now-former “Splash Brother” with the Warriors, Stephen Curry, and his 3,747 career makes from beyond the arc.
In a Friday evening message posted to social media, Thompson wrote:
“Oh Bay Area , there are not enough words and images to convey how I really feel about yall. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for the best times of my life. It was such an honor to put that Dubs jersey on from day 1. I really just wanted to be the best I could be and help bring as many championships as possible to the region. The best part was not the rings though, it was the friendships I made that will last a lifetime.
“My family and I would like to thank all of the amazing people who work tirelessly to make the @warriors organization world-class. Don’t be sad it’s over, be happy it happened. Until we meet again. Sea captain out”
Without mentioning Dallas — by league rule, they technically cannot acknowledge any part of the trade yet — the Warriors released a statement in tribute to Thompson on Monday night, saying they “can’t overstate Klay Thompson’s incredible and legendary contributions” to the team and that “the amount of joy and happiness that Klay provided Warriors fans … cannot be minimized.”
“His penchant for delivering in pressurized situations on the biggest stage, including many Game 6 heroics, has helped define a career,” the Warriors said. “Klay’s legacy will live on forever and we look forward to the day we can retire his #11 jersey at Chase Center, where he will join a host of Warriors immortals, including those who helped shape this recent dynasty — himself included.”
Warriors statement on Klay Thompson: pic.twitter.com/qIscaFW5mN
— Warriors PR (@WarriorsPR) July 2, 2024
Green, the 15th overall pick in the 2020 draft, has spent all four of his NBA seasons with the Mavericks and averaged 8.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists this past season.
Outlook for Mavericks: Dallas made a standout playoff run in 2024, rising to its first NBA Finals since 2011 behind the strength of its standout backcourt tandem of Kia MVP candidate Luka Doncic and All-Star Kyrie Irving.
A large part of Dallas’ success in the postseason was because of its 3-point shooting, particularly standout performances in the Western Conference playoffs from Irving and role players such as P.J. Washington, Derrick Jones Jr. and Maxi Kleber. However, after shooting 36% overall in the playoffs, the Mavs saw their team 3-point percentage drop to 31.6% in the series with the Boston Celtics.
In adding Thompson, Dallas hopes to incorporate a shooting guard who can score at the rim, midrange and from 3-point range to diversify the team’s offensive scheme.
Thompson isn’t the same (overall) player he was before he lost two seasons to injury, and he’s trending toward being less of a multi-level scorer and more of just a 3-point shooter. The Warriors were outscored by 1.6 points per 100 possessions in 1,427 minutes with Curry and Thompson on the floor together last season.
But Thompson played in 77 games last season and ranked fourth in total 3-pointers made. He still has value, but he may need to accept a lesser role than he’s had over the last 13 seasons.
Thompson and Warriors: Last season was difficult for Thompson as he was sent to the bench for the first time since 2012. Additionally, coach Steve Kerr had hoped the 10th-seeded Warriors could somehow fight through the NBA’s Play-In Tournament and into a playoff series. Instead, they lost 118-94 at Sacramento and were eliminated.
In that game, the 34-year-old Thompson missed all 10 shots in the loss to the Kings and became a free agent in July when his five-year contract worth nearly $190 million expired.
It was a far cry from his 37-point third quarter against the Kings in 2015 or a 60-point game against Indiana the following season or the 11 3-pointers he hit in the sixth game of the 2016 Western Conference finals against Oklahoma City that helped force a seventh game and an eventual trip back to the NBA Finals.
But Thompson has struggled to get back to that level after missing two full seasons in 2019-20 and 2020-21 with catastrophic injuries to his knee and Achilles. He returned to help Golden State win a fourth championship in this era in 2022 but struggled for long portions of this season.
Thompson had repeatedly said he would “love to be a Warrior for life,” but it became clearer as the offseason marched on that he and the team would not remain together.
Thompson’s 2,481 made 3-pointers in the regular season are the sixth most in NBA history and the 501 he has made in the playoffs are more than anyone other than Curry.
Information from The Associated Press and NBA.com’s John Schuhmann were used in this report.
