NBA insider views Mavericks as frontrunners to land Klay Thompson despite LeBron James' recruitment
An NBA insider believes that the Dallas Mavericks are the frontrunners to sign Klay Thompson over the LA Lakers. The Mavs and Lakers are two of the teams reportedly interested in Thompson, who parted ways with the Golden State Warriors to become an unrestricted free agent.
On NBA TV's coverage of free agency, Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes was asked about the future of Thompson. Haynes shared that the Mavericks should be the favorites to win the four-time NBA champion over the Lakers, despite the efforts of LeBron James.
"If there is a frontrunner, I'm gonna say it's the Dallas Mavericks. He is very intrigued by that situation where he can be a guy that can fit in with what they do well as far Kyrie, Luka penetrate and drawing the defense, getting guys open shots. Also, the Dallas Mavericks' offensive schemes need a little bit of tinkering," Haynes said.
He added:
"Their offense is pretty stagnant. You know Luka's gonna have the ball for the majority of the shot clock. When it's Kyrie's turn, he's gonna do the same thing. Now with Klay Thompson, you can kinda experiment and go outside of the norm of what has been for them offensively. That'd be a good fit."
The Dallas Mavericks needed to knock down their shots beyond the arc to have a shot at beating the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. Their role players struggled, so the Mavs will need to upgrade their wings. They got rid of Tim Hardaway Jr. and replaced him with Quentin Grimes.
Dallas also lost Derrick Jones Jr. in free agency after he signed with the LA Clippers. They have a gaping hole in their starting lineup, so Thompson should be a good fit with the Mavs.
LeBron James recruiting Klay Thompson to join the LA Lakers
Klay Thompson officially became a free agent after the Golden State Warriors failed to sign him to a new contract. Thompson is set to explore his options and has been linked to the Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, LA Clippers and LA Lakers.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, LeBron James personally called Thompson via phone when free agency started. James is open to taking a pay cut to secure the team's mid-level exception worth around $12.8 million.
"He, his agent Greg Lawrence at Wasserman are talking with a number of teams, including the Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks. They've had conversations tonight. I'm told LeBron James called Klay Thompson right when free agency opened at 6 p.m. reached out, talked to Klay Thompson," Wojnarowski said.
At the age of 34, Thompson is no longer the player he used to be but he's still among the greatest shooters ever. NBA teams are not going to be turned off by his 0-for-10 shooting in his final game with the Golden State Warriors at the NBA Play-In Tournament against the Sacramento Kings.