The Dallas Mavericks and Klay Thompson agreed to a deal quickly after the NBA free agency period opened on Sunday evening. Is this the biggest free agency signing in Mavs history?
After a week of rumors and speculation leading up to NBA free agency, the Dallas Mavericks officially reached an agreement with four-time champion and future Hall-of-Fame sharpshooter Klay Thompson on Sunday evening, according to multiple reports.
The deal will be a multi-team sign-and-trade with the Golden State Warriors, as the Mavs will send Josh Green to the Charlotte Hornets while Thompson lands in Dallas on a three-year, $50 million contract to join Dallas, as first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
After it was revealed that Thompson’s relationship with the Warriors was likely beyond repair, the Mavericks, along with LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers, emerged as the three teams most closely associated with the five-time All-Star. Dallas was consistently seen as a strong contender for Thompson and now the 13-year veteran will team up with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving on a squad that won the Western Conference last season but lost to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.
In 77 games for the Warriors last season, Thompson averaged 17.9 points while shooting 43.2 percent from the floor, 38.7 percent from deep, and 92.7 percent on free throws. Thompson’s elite shooting will be a welcomed sight for a Mavs team that struggled to hit open 3s in the NBA Finals against the Celtics.
In addition to signing Thompson, the Mavs also had optimism about their chances to re-sign defensive ace Derrick Jones Jr., who took on the team’s toughest defensive assignments last season. However, due to complications with Jones’ change of agent representation, the Mavs had to quickly move on to the next plan, which was signing defensive wing Naji Marshall to a three-year, $27 million contract.
With their elite defense still very much intact with the additions of Marshall and Quentin Grimes, and the offense getting a much-needed boost with the arrival of Thompson, the Mavs should be a top contender in the NBA heading into the 2024-25 season.
