Klay Thompson’s run with the Dallas Mavericks was supposed to be a clean fit: a proven shooter joining a team fresh off its first NBA Finals trip since 2011, with Luka Doncic setting the table and a chance at a fifth ring in the mix. Instead, the whole thing unraveled fast, and a new report makes the decision to bring Thompson in - and the way it all played out - look even rougher.
Thompson signed a three-year deal with Dallas in the summer of 2024, but he never really got the partnership he came for. He and Doncic shared the floor for just 21 games before Doncic was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers. From there, the Mavericks ended up with Anthony Davis, the exact player Thompson had been trying to avoid in free agency.
The reason, according to Christian Clark of The Athletic, was straightforward: “one of the reasons Thompson chose the Mavericks over the Lakers was that he had concerns about Davis’ availability.”
That concern turned out to be justified almost immediately. Davis was hurt in his first game as a Maverick and went on to appear in only 29 games during his time in Dallas. The injuries, along with other issues, helped drag the Mavericks into back-to-back seasons without a playoff berth.
The twist is what makes Thompson’s Dallas stint look so strange. The Lakers had offered him a richer contract the same summer, but he chose the Mavericks anyway, in part because he didn’t trust Davis to stay healthy. Then Dallas moved on from Doncic, brought in Davis, and Thompson wound up stuck with the very situation he had tried to sidestep.
For a player who came to Dallas with title ambitions, the ending could hardly have gone more sideways. The Mavericks did not just miss on the pairing Thompson wanted; they also moved away from the roster that could have kept him in a far better position to win. Thompson, meanwhile, was a fan favorite for his 3-point shooting and handled the chaos professionally, even as the results never matched the plan.
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Klay Thompsons Next Role Just Reshaped Miamis Free Agency Plans
Klay Thompsons next stop has already begun to ripple through Miamis summer plans, with the Heat building their pursuit around shooting and spacing as they try to fit alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. That approach made Thompson the cleaner roster fit than DeMar DeRozan, and it helped shape the market in a way Dallas fans know all too well from the buyout that set this chain reaction in motion.
DeRozan reportedly landed with Denver instead of Miami in part because the Heat were expected to start Thompson at shooting guard, leaving a different path open for their backcourt. Thompson is expected to sign a two-year deal with the Heat after finalizing his buyout agreement with the Mavericks, a move that gives Miami the floor-stretching piece it wanted while also clarifying why its free-agency board moved the way it did. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks Still Have One Big Shooting Question After Klay Thompson Move
The Mavericks spent part of their offseason trying to restock the perimeter around a roster that still needs reliable outside shooting, and the latest moves show how tricky that project has become. Klay Thompson had been one of the few Dallas players providing steady volume from deep, and even with newcomers such as Santi Aldama, Tarik Biberovic and Marcus Sasser in the mix, the group is still short on proven, high-level spacing.
What makes the picture tougher is that each of those additions comes with a different kind of question mark, whether it is efficiency, experience or simply how much they can be trusted to carry a larger shooting load. Dallas can point to the added depth and hope internal growth helps, but the roster still has one looming issue: there is not much margin for error if the outside shot does not come along quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Mavs Rookie Is Building A Real Case For NBA Minutes
Sergio de Larrea keeps popping up in the kind of places that tend to matter for young guards trying to move up a level. FIBA recently pointed to the Mavericks rookie as a rising name for Spain, noting the size, vision and shooting that have already helped him carve out a pro rsum in Europe, including recognition in the Spanish Liga ACB. For Dallas, that kind of profile is worth monitoring closely, especially for a player whose game already carries the look of someone trying to earn real NBA minutes rather than simply a longer stay on the fringe.
What makes the next stretch so interesting is that de Larrea is about to get another serious test before the season picture comes into focus. He is set for senior international competition with Spain in late August, and those games should offer a cleaner read on how his skill set translates when the pace quickens and the stakes rise. If he holds up well there, it only strengthens the argument that the Mavericks may have something more than a developmental project on their hands. [Read more 🡒]