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[Saba Sports News] The Dallas Mavericks team Klay Thompson joined in the offseason looks drastically different from the one he’s playing for now, and it seems to be taking a toll on the four-time NBA champion.
Thompson arrived in Dallas via a sign-and-trade last summer after parting ways with the Golden State Warriors. He chose the Mavericks for obvious reasons, including the presence of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
However, the landscape shifted dramatically when Dallas shocked the NBA last month by trading Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. In return, the Mavs acquired Anthony Davis—who suffered an injury in his first game with the team and hasn’t played since.
As if that weren’t enough, Irving tore his ACL on Monday night, ending his season.
Speaking on ESPN Radio 710 AM’s *Mason and Ireland* show, Mychal Thompson—Klay’s father and a two-time NBA champion—described his son’s first season in Dallas as being “stuck in purgatory.”
“He thought with Luka and Kyrie they had a chance to get back to the Finals,” Mychal said. “Obviously, Luka left. Then I told him, ‘Well, when A.D. comes, you still have a shot because A.D. is that good.’ Then he got hurt. Then (Daniel) Gafford got hurt. Then (Dereck) Lively got hurt. So Klay’s stuck in purgatory right now. If they hang onto the 10-seed, that’ll 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 recruiting Thompson to Dallas, but no one could have predicted the chaos that followed.
Thompson was supposed to be the missing piece to help the Mavericks push for an NBA Finals run. Instead, the team completely reshaped its identity. Had Thompson known what was coming, he almost certainly would have chosen a different path.