During the 2024 free agency, Klay Thompson sought a greener pasture following a brutal end to his Golden State Warriors tenure.
He joined the Dallas Mavericks under the assumption that he would share the court with Luka Dončić. But after a few months of the 2024-25 season, his decision took a major twist as the Slovenian superstar was ultimately dealt in the NBA’s most stunning trade.
And the landing spot for Dončić? The team Thompson denied the opportunity to play for, despite a bigger paycheck than Dallas’ offer.
“The Lakers and Thompson discussed a four-year, $80 million deal in free agency that — if the Warriors cooperated in a sign-and-trade — would have dwarfed the three-year, $50 million deal the Mavericks would eventually give him,” a report from the latest piece of The Athletic read. “But the allure of Dončić’s greatness was a major pull, as was the chance to partner with Irving in the backcourt. When given the choice between teaming up with the Lakers’ duo of Davis and LeBron James or the Mavericks’ stars, Thompson made a calculated decision to go with the latter.
“Little did he know that the star player swap to come would leave him on the wrong end of hoops history.”
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It was definitely a brutal turn of events for Thompson. During that time, the Mavs were coming off a painful NBA Finals collapse against the Boston Celtics. And as a four-time champion himself, he certainly expected to compete and be a key piece in the team's redemption run for another title shot with Dončić at the front.
But in the end, he was simply blindsided by what happened. He could've been contending in Los Angeles and perhaps been an eventual teammate of Dončić, instead of settling in mediocrity in Dallas, where he’s averaging career lows in points (7.4), field goal shooting (31.4%), three-point rate (26.7%), and minutes (19) this season.
Following general manager Nico Harrison’s firing, Thompson has no choice but to endure the current drama and uncertainty surrounding the Mavs franchise.
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