The Dallas Mavericks that Klay Thompson joined during the offseason barely resemble the team that he is currently playing for, and it sounds like that could be taking a toll on the four-time NBA champion.
Thompson landed with the Mavericks via a sign-and-trade deal last summer after he and the Golden State Warriors decided to part ways. He chose Dallas for some fairly obvious reasons, including but not limited to the presence of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
The Mavericks then rocked the NBA last month when they traded Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Anthony Davis was the big return for Dallas in the deal, and the 6-foot-10 forward suffered an injury in his first game with the Mavs. Davis has not played since.
As if all of that were not enough, Irving tore his ACL on Monday night and will miss the remainder of the season.
During an appearance on ESPN Radio 710 AM’s “Mason and Ireland” show Wednesday, two-time NBA champion Mychal Thompson — Klay’s father — described what his son’s first season in Dallas has been like. Mychal said Klay is “stuck in purgatory.”
“He thought with Luka and Kyrie that they had a chance to get back to the Finals,” Mychal said. “Obviously, Luka left. Then I told him, ‘Well, when A.D.’s coming you still got a chance to get to the Finals because A.D.’s that good.’ Then he’s hurt. Then (Daniel) Gafford got hurt and then (Dereck) Lively got hurt, so Klay’s stuck in purgatory right now. If they hang onto the 10-seed, that will be the story of the year in the NBA. I think they’re gonna lose 10 in a row.”
Irving played a big role in helping to convince Thompson to join the Mavericks. Obviously, no one had a crystal ball at the time.
Thompson was supposed to be one of the missing pieces that could help Dallas return to the NBA Finals and potentially get by the Boston Celtics or another Eastern Conference team. The Mavericks instead decided to completely change the face of their franchise. Had Thompson known that was coming, he almost certainly would have looked elsewhere.
