Analysis: What Klay Thompson’s signing means for the Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks continued to reshape their roster with the acquisition of former Golden State Warrior Klay Thompson.

Thompson’s deal with Dallas is reportedly for three-years and $50 million, a bargain for a franchise looking to surround Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving with more shooting and veteran help.

Thompson is one of the best shooters in NBA history and helped the Warriors win four championships. He and Stephen Curry earned the Splash Brothers nickname for their prolific 3-point shooting throughout the Golden State dynasty.

Before landing Thompson, Dallas signed former Pelicans forward Naji Marshall and acquired Quentin Grimes in a trade from Detroit that shipped out Tim Hardaway Jr.

Of all the moves the Mavericks have made so far, the signing of Thompson is easily the most impactful. Dallas wasn’t able to retain the services of forward Derrick Jones Jr., who signed with the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. Jones is the more athletic player and had big moments during the Mavericks’ run to the NBA Finals, but Thompson is an upgrade at the small forward spot.

At the start of the 2023 season it would’ve been unfathomable that Thompson would be playing for anybody except Golden State in the 2024, but Thompson turned down a reported two-year deal that would’ve paid him roughly $24 million annually. Now he’ll make closer to $17 million annually, but will have another year of security on his deal.

Thompson isn’t the same player he was at the peak of the dynasty, but this is still a future Hall of Famer that averaged 17.9 points and shot 38.7% of his 3-point goals in a down year.

One of the reasons Dallas struggled in its 4-1 defeat to Boston in the Finals is the lack of reliable 3-point shooters around Doncic and Irving. The Mavericks shot below 30% on wide open 3-pointers in that series and that’s an area Thompson would surely help in.

Thompson projects to likely start and it’s fair to wonder how that will work defensively, but that’s why the addition of Marshall was so important. The 6-foot-7 forward has a 7’1 wingspan and has used his length to become a quality defender.

Marshall more than held his own when he matched up with Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the first round of the playoffs and Marshall gives Dallas a defensive stopper. For his career Marshall is just a 31% shooter from 3, but he’s coming off a career year where he made 38.7% including 42% from the corner.

If Marshall can just be a league average shooter around 35% then the Mavericks will have plenty of wing options in the postseason. The acquisition of Grimes can’t be overlooked either.

The 24-year-old started 90 games in 2.5 seasons with the Knicks before he was sent to Detroit in February. At his best Grimes is another quality shooter that could provide at least 20 minutes a night for the Mavericks.

He averaged 11.3 points and made 38.6% of his 3-pointers last season for the Knicks. It’s another upgrade on the wing for Dallas and general manager Nico Harrison deserves credit for continuing to be flexible with his moves.

After acquiring Dereck Lively II, P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford this season, Harrison flipped Jones, Hardaway and Josh Green for Thompson, Marshall and Grimes. All the while he kept the Mavericks under the first apron of the luxury tax, which still gives Dallas more future flexibility if Dallas needs to make tweaks.

The Western Conference is wide open with the Denver Nuggets losing two rotation players, the Clippers losing Paul George, the Lakers looking like they’ll be without a key acquisition and of course, taking Thompson away from Golden State.

Dallas isn’t the only team that has noticed. The Oklahoma City Thunder were also aggressive in upgrading their roster after Dallas eliminated OKC in the Western Conference Semifinals. The Thunder traded Josh Giddey for an elite defender in Alex Caruso and signed big man Isaiah Hartenstein from the Knicks.

The New Orleans Pelicans acquired Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks and could move Brandon Ingram to find depth and a big man. Minnesota traded multiple picks to jump into the top-10 of the NBA Draft to select Kentucky guard Robert Dillingham, one of the best scorers in college last season.

Dallas couldn’t afford to sit back and be content with its roster after a great playoff run and the moves made this off-season should ensure the Mavericks keep pace with the contenders in the West.