The Dallas Mavericks ran through a top-notch Western Conference to book a place in the NBA Finals. Ultimately, the Boston Celtics were a better team. However, for the most part, they outshot their opponents, especially from a distance. The urgency to fix the problem led the Mavs to have a productive offseason, led by the signing of none other than Klay Thompson. With him, Kyrie Irving is convinced the Mavericks can achieve their “dreams”. But he wasn’t the only one.

The Mavs’ GM, Nico Harrison, watched the complete NBA Finals from the sideline. He noticed the Celtics’ splashy three-point dominance beak down Dallas. They didn’t necessarily win the efficiency battle, but a slightly better conversion rate while attempting 55 more threes for the series did the job. When speaking of the Thompson trade, to Harrison it was simple. “After the Finals, we felt that we were close,” he said.

What did they lack? “We knew we were close and I kind of say this and it has a good ring to it but we were a Klay away,” he revealed. Precisely, that’s what Dallas needed. Besides KAI and Luka Doncic, there was no well-defined distance threat for the Mavericks that could swing the momentum. And when attacking the interior, the Celtics’ smothering defense caused major troubles.

With Klay Thompson in the picture, even Doncic is “excited”. Even in a drowsy season, Thompson’s abilities to stretch the floor hardly waned. A scenario the Mavericks will love is his catch-and-shoot numbers. He averaged the third most points in the NBA off the catch, making 38.1% of his threes. With an expert playmaker like Doncic scrambling the defense, the 34-year-old is found to get clean looks, and the Splash Brother won’t hesitate to take those shots.

Furthermore, he is great at navigating to his spots. In the Warriors system, which thrived through off-ball movement, Klay Thompson generated 6.2 points per game, leading the NBA. He has already tested out a few variations of a pick-and-roll with Doncic. “His ability in the pick and roll is maybe the best I have ever seen,” he said about the Slovenian PG.

Klay Thompson too is confident that he can be the missing piece for the Dallas Mavericks. All that’s left is the experiment on the court.

The Mavericks had a Klay Thompson at one point

It wasn’t always the case that the Dallas Mavericks lacked a swingman that could nail daggers with Luka Doncic threading plays. He went by the name of Tim Hardaway Jr., who they traded to the Detroit Pistons in the offseason. During the last postseason, his production suffered a severe decline, only getting 12 minutes per game in the 22-game stretch.

He effectively dropped out of the rotation due to his streaky three-point shooting. During the playoffs, he only shot 35% on 2.6 attempts per game. That was far from his best. Just three seasons ago, the last time the Mavericks made the postseason with him, he set the stage on fire, hitting on 40% of his 8.1 attempts per game.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t sustain the thunderous output this season. Furthermore, as an undersized guard, Hardaway Jr. isn’t a defensive threat. He recorded a 115.8 defensive rating during the regular season, the fourth worst on the team. Even though Thompson might have deteriorated defensively, the former Warrior can still manage to hold his own.

Moreover, he is still among the most prolific shooters when given the time to set his feet. His presence on the floor can’t go unchecked, which will provide greater space for expert handlers like Doncic and Irving to score with lesser defensive tension. Ultimately, it will all come down to how swiftly the Mavericks can infuse Klay Thompson into their system.

There is every reason to feel empowered with the four-time champion among their ranks. And he can be a formidable impact-maker as part of the franchise.