The Dallas Mavericks made a big splash in the 2024 summer offseason when they landed four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson in a sign-and-trade involving the Golden State Warriors.
Thompson, who is a five-time NBA All-Star and career 41% three-point shooter spent the first 11 years of his NBA career in Golden State.
In an interview with Shannon Sharpe on his podcast, “Club Shay Shay” former Mavs majority owner and current minority owner Mark Cuban discussed how the team was able to convince Thompson to come to Dallas amid the Los Angeles Lakers courting him, a franchise he grew up rooting for and his father played for.
“Credit goes to Nico [Harrison] and Kyrie [Irving] and Jason Kidd. They know him. They’ve played with them. They understand him. That’s why we brought Nico Harrison in, because of his relationships with players. They went out and spent time with them, got to know him better, and Klay was ready for a move,” Cuban said.
Cuban also touched on the motivation for Thompson after achieving so much in Golden State to move on and build something new with a different franchise.
“It takes somebody who’s special, who’s got confidence in themselves, ambition, and who really has something to prove. Klay’s got a lot to prove, which is great because those are the kind of guys you want on your squad. They’re gonna work harder than ever to prove people wrong,” Cuban said.
Despite all the success for Thompson in the Bay Area, his time with the Warriors ended with the team missing the postseason altogether after a loss to the Sacramento Kings in the Play-In Tournament. Thompson struggled, which cast even more doubt on the possibility of him re-signing with the Warriors.
Despite the bitter ending, Thompson averaged 17.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 77 games last season for the Warriors. He shot 38.7% from the 3-point line in 2023-24, which would rank third on the Mavericks this past season behind Dante Exum and Kyrie Irving.
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