{"id":2105409,"date":"2026-08-21T19:36:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T16:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2105409"},"modified":"2026-08-21T19:36:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T16:36:17","slug":"klay-thompson-dealt-with-mavericks-chaos-gracefully-now-his-time-in-dallas-is-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2105409","title":{"rendered":"Klay Thompson dealt with Mavericks\u2019 chaos gracefully. Now, his time in Dallas is over"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In April, once the Dallas Mavericks\u2019 26-56 regular season mercifully came to an end, Klay Thompson was asked a question he considered a \u201chard-hitter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Are you anticipating being here next season?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure. I\u2019m under contract, so I do,\u201d Thompson said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Then Thompson paused and let out a laugh.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019ve definitely learned in my time in Dallas (that) things can change on a dime.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Thompson arrived in Dallas two years ago thinking that he\u2019d spend his mid-30s feasting on the open looks Luka Don\u010di\u0107 created. To say the situation around him changed quickly would be putting it mildly.<\/p>\n

Thompson and Don\u010di\u0107 played in 21 games together before former Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison sent Don\u010di\u0107 to the Los Angeles Lakers in February 2025. Anthony Davis, the star big man the Mavericks got back in the deal, was only able to suit up in 29 games because of injuries before he, too, was traded about one year later.<\/p>\n

Thompson had hoped to compete for a fifth championship when he left the Golden State Warriors for the Mavericks. Instead, the 36-year-old spent the last two years playing for a franchise that made one of the worst self-inflicted mistakes in NBA history \u2014 trading the perennial MVP candidate Don\u010di\u0107 for an underwhelming haul \u2014 and then pivoted to building around 19-year-old star Cooper Flagg.<\/p>\n

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Thompson will no longer be a part of that transition. The Mavericks announced Friday they have reached an agreement to buyout the future Hall of Fame shooting guard<\/a>. A league source said Thompson is expected to sign with Miami once he clears waivers on Sunday, but the contract details have yet to be finalized.<\/p>\n

Thompson departs Dallas as one of the people the Don\u010di\u0107 trade most negatively impacted. Thompson, who ranks fourth on the NBA\u2019s all-time 3-pointers made list, thought he was signing up to play for a contender spent but spent last season playing for a team that lost 30 of 37 games in an effort to maximize its odds in the NBA Draft lottery.<\/p>\n

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Not that Thompson ever sought any pity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just learned to go with it,\u201d Thompson said in April. \u201cYou can\u2019t be down just because things change. You still have to be a professional. Just because it didn\u2019t work out and we didn\u2019t get back there, I\u2019m still eager to keep playing. All I want is another chance to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Throughout every turbulent moment in Dallas, Thompson remained professional. The 418 3s he knocked down in two years with the Mavericks were 183 more than his next-closest teammate. He also hardly ever took nights off, playing in 141 of a possible 164 games.<\/p>\n

This past season, Thompson shifted into a bench role, reduced responsibility that he handled well. While two serious lower body injuries he dealt with earlier in his career have sapped some of his mobility, Thompson remained an elite 3-point shooter who relished competition.<\/p>\n

Thompson\u2019s fiery side surfaced in November when former Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant had choice words for him as he was leaving the floor. When asked about the interaction after the game, Thompson unloaded on Morant for talking trash while Morant was yet again on the sideline in street clothes.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been running his mouth for a long time,\u201d Thompson said<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s funny to run your mouth when you\u2019re on the bench. It\u2019s kind of the story of his career so far. Leaving us wanting more.\u201d<\/p>\n

It always felt like Thompson was giving everything he had. Even when the Mavericks were at their nadir post-Don\u010di\u0107 trade, Thompson was in the lineup trying to help them get wins. He was one of eight active Dallas players in the team\u2019s March 10, 2025, road game against the San Antonio Spurs. Thompson scored 26 points that night and was ecstatic afterwards about the Mavericks eking out a win.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the best job,\u201d Thompson said then<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s great, honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back in the summer of 2024, Thompson\u2019s representatives had discussions with the Lakers about him winding up there. It would have made sense on several levels. Thompson has deep ties to Los Angeles. He spent much of his childhood in the city and still owns a home there.<\/p>\n

But one of the reasons Thompson chose the Mavericks over the Lakers was that he had concerns about Davis\u2019 availability, a source with knowledge of his thinking said.<\/p>\n

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Once the Mavericks acquired Thompson in a sign-and-trade, Harrison said he believed Dallas was a \u201cKlay Thompson away\u201d from winning the championship. Seven months later, Harrison traded Don\u010di\u0107 for Davis, who got hurt in his first game with the team \u2014 the first of four separate injuries Davis suffered in Dallas.<\/p>\n

The Mavericks weren\u2019t healthy enough to make the playoffs in Thompson\u2019s two years with the team. Thompson never felt sorry for himself.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Warriors coach) Steve Kerr used to tell me,\u201d Thompson said, \u201c\u2018We don\u2019t get paid because it\u2019s fun. You get paid because it\u2019s really hard and you have to deal with those obstacles that come at you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In April, once the Dallas Mavericks\u2019 26-56 regular season mercifully came to an end, Klay Thompson was asked a question he considered a \u201chard-hitter.\u201d Are you anticipating being here next season? \u201cI\u2019m not sure. I\u2019m under contract, so I do,\u201d Thompson said. Then Thompson paused and let out a laugh. \u201cBut I\u2019ve definitely learned in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-2105409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2105409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2105409"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2105409\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2105409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2105409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2105409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}