The Dallas Mavericks came up short in the 2024 NBA Finals, losing four games to one against the dominant Boston Celtics. It ended a surprise run through the Western Conference playoffs that solidified Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving as perhaps the best backcourt in the game, but it felt like they were one piece away from being one of the championship favorites.
Mavericks President Says Thompson Is The Missing Piece
Klay Thompson: Dallas Maverick.@KlayThompson // #MFFL pic.twitter.com/4dVywm0hRf
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) July 9, 2024
According to the team’s president of basketball operations Nico Harrison, that piece is Klay Thompson.
Thompson was one of the more intriguing free agents to watch this summer. His relationship with the Golden State Warriors had soured, and his departure marked the end of a dynastic run with teammates Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. He was scooped up by the Mavericks early in free agency, signing a 3-year deal in order to join Dončić and Irving in their pursuit of defending their Western Conference title.
Dallas Was “A Klay Thompson Away”
Nico Harrison says “we were a Klay Thomson away” pic.twitter.com/PRY65Tejul
— MavsHighlights (@MavsHighlights) July 14, 2024
There has been plenty of question about how much Thompson has left in the tank, especially given his performance from last season that concluded with an 0-for-10 showing in an elimination game. But Harrison and the Mavericks obviously have some faith that one of the greatest shooters of all time will age with grace, as he alluded to when he spoke in an interview during the Summer League in Las Vegas:
It was a no-brainer for us, especially after the Finals. We knew that we were a Klay Thompson away.
Dallas was in desperate need of a third scoring option this past season. Dončić averaged nearly 34 points and Irving had over 25, but the next-highest output was Tim Hardaway Jr.’s 14.4 points pre game, who was essentially out of the rotation during the latter part of the postseason. They are hoping that Thompson can help pick up some of the slack, which will certainly be a question mark heading into the 2024-25 campaign.
Thompson averaged just shy of 18 points last season, though he had the worst three-point shooting percentage of any full season of his career in 2023-24, as he shot at a 38.7% clip from beyond the arc. He was relegated to bench duty for a solid portion of the year, as well.
