The winger, who won four rings in Golden State with Curry, accepts the three-year, $50 million deal offered to him by the Mavs
Richard Prates
July 1 – 10:14 PM – MILAN
Klay Thompson leaves the Golden State Warriors. He will play next season with the Dallas Mavericks with whom he agreed to a three-year contract and a total salary of 50 million dollars. He goes to Doncic, he goes to the Western Conference finalist of the 2024 playoffs. The end of an era: the 34-year-old winger leaves the Dubs, of which he is a legend, after 13 years: they have been his only team from 2011 to now. The one with which he won 4 titles, played 6 times in the Finals, marked an epic, that of the Splash Brothers paired with Steph Curry on the perimeter.
THE DEAL
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Thompson leaves the Warriors who had offered him an even richer renewal, for a seasonal salary. Having been benched for 14 games during the past season, for the first time since his rookie year, was considered by the super shooter as lèse-majesté, a lack of respect for his status, for his past. And so he changes air. He chooses Texas as a free agent, at the end of his contract, therefore, but a trade is expected to be finalized that will allow the Warriors to obtain a counterpart, yet to be identified. For now, it is known that the Charlotte Hornets are also involved, where Josh Green, the Australian guard of the Mavs, will go in exchange for two second-round picks of future Drafts. The Los Angeles Lakers were also interested in the Splash Brother, but Thompson is saying goodbye to California for good and will not wear the yellow-purple jersey with which his father, the excellent long Mychal Thompson, won the ring.
END OF AN ERA
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Thompson scored 15,531 points in the regular season and another 3,032 in the playoffs for Golden State. Between Oakland and San Francisco, the two sides of the same bay, the different recent homes, Oracle Arena and Chase Center, of the Dubs. He won the ring as a leading actor in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022, playing the Finals also in 2016 and 2019. Together with Curry he revolutionized the game, dominating the playoffs with the outside shot, with unlimited range. He, Steph and Draymond Green represented the last great NBA dynasty in chronological order, in a league that has seen 6 different teams triumph in the last 6 years. Those three phenomena together have won 518 games in the regular season and 98 in the playoffs, in the last 50 years only Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili have won 4 titles together, as a trio.
THE TEXAS FRAMEWORK
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Thompson, a 5-time All Star, averaged 17.9 points last season, shooting 38.7% from 3-point range, after tearing first the cruciate ligament in his knee and then an Achilles tendon, injuries that kept him out for the 2019-2020 and 2020-21 seasons, is not the same player today as in his best days, inevitably. In terms of consistency of performance, first of all. However, he has found consistency of use again: he played 77 of the 82 regular season games in the last one, 29.7 minutes per game. It is clear that he no longer defends like in the good old days when he was a sticker stuck to every opposing perimeter scorer. And now on offense he is in fits and starts, more than usual. When he gets into rhythm, “he is back to himself,” but sometimes he gets stuck and seems unrecognizable. In attack, he is perfect to play alongside Doncic because he can punish the defenses’ double teams on the Slovenian, with his 3-point shot. He excels precisely by moving away from the ball, without having to have it in his hands to start offensive plays, relentless, at his best, on the dumps. And Luka and Irving know how to pass the ball… Less perfect seems the defensive interlocking, today as it is today. Doncic and Kyrie struggle defensively on the perimeter, the first due to bad habits and little athleticism, the second due to poor readings and few centimeters. And Thompson is now an average defender at best. But his experience, then at such low costs for his rank, will be useful to the Texans, who at the beginning of this free agent market have lost the defensive ace Derrick Jones, but have replaced him at small forward with the more complete Naji Marshall, coming from New Orleans, who signed a three-year contract with Dallas. Just like Thompson. Who turns the page, decides not to live on memories and as something badly tolerated. Looks forward. Aims for the title, and here we are again, but with a different team. And until recently, who would have ever said…
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2024-07-02 00:41:55
#Nba #Klay #Thompson #Dallas #Mavericks
