RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesA few days ago, a report came out that indicated Klay Thompson of the Dallas Mavericks "would welcome a return to Los Angeles," a metropolitan area where he spent his high school years. The NBA world interpreted this report as Thompson having some desire to come to the Los Angeles Lakers .
Thompson, who is 36 years of age, is entering the final year of a three-year, $50 million contract he signed with Dallas in 2024 shortly after leaving the Golden State Warriors. He, of course, won four NBA championships with the Warriors and had been drafted by them with the No. 11 pick in the 2011 draft.
Insider Jake Fischer said on a Bleacher Report video that the Mavericks "have been very resistant" to buying out Thompson's contract since there is interest in him on the market.
“To this point, Dallas has not been looking to find a buyout agreement with Klay Thompson. He’s got one year left on a three-year, $51 million deal that he signed two seasons ago when he left the Golden State Warriors, the franchise he won four championships with, of course…Klay Thompson very nearly chose the Los Angeles Lakers with then LeBron James over joining Dallas originally to pair with Luka Doncic and where’s Luka Doncic right now? Of course, with the Lakers. There’s plenty of connective tissue there that makes sense here. The only thing is, the Mavericks have been very resistant, to my understanding, of actually moving forward and agreeing to a buyout with Klay Thompson. They believe this market that’s shaping up for him, the fact that there is some LA interest, the fact that there is Miami interest. There’s probably other places that have interest in Klay Thompson as well.”
While Fischer implied that the Lakers could have interest in Thompson, it is unknown how much interest they actually have in him.
At this point in his career, the five-time All-Star is a below-average defender and lacks athleticism and mobility, especially on the defensive end. In his heyday, he was regarded as a strong defender and was named to the All-Defensive second team in 2019, but the ACL injury he suffered in 2019 and the subsequent Achilles tear he sustained in 2020 robbed him of a lot of his natural ability.
Even Thompson's 3-point accuracy, his biggest superpower, has dropped off a bit in recent years. He shot above 40% from 3-point range in each of his first eight NBA seasons, but he has been below that mark in four of the last five years. But he still shot 38.3% from downtown on 7.6 attempts in 21.7 minutes a game last season, so he could still have something to offer, albeit in limited playing time.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Mavs 'very resistant' to buy out Klay Thompson due to Lakers' interest
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