How Klay Thompson Mavs Signing Fills Need Exposed in NBA Finals
The Splash Brothers are no more, as the Dallas Mavericks reached an agreement with the now-former Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson. As first reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the 34-year-old will sign a three-year, $50 million deal to see him join the Mavericks as their hopeful third scoring option to play alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
It is a big win for the Mavericks front office, specifically general manager Nico Harrison, who looks to build on a season in which the team made it to the NBA Finals. While the Mavs' run to their first Finals appearance since winning it in 2011 was special, it was in that five-game series versus the Boston Celtics that holes were exposed.
None of those were bigger than Dallas's inability to rely on its role players to produce offensively as they had in the leadup to their Finals appearance. The Mavericks shot a horrendous 31.6 percent from beyond the arc as a team. Doncic and Irving were the only players to hit eight or more threes in those five games.
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The Celtics' defensive plan was quite simple yet still effective. They were content with making Doncic and Irving beat them while forcing the Dallas role-players to make the most of their open-shot opportunities that didn't come from the corners.
Heading into the series versus Boston, the Mavericks shot the three ball from the corner, at a playoff-high 13.1 percent frequency, according to CleaningTheGlass. In that same time frame, the Mavericks hit those shots with a 40.6 percent "accuracy."
However, that success didn't carry over versus Boston. The Mavericks shot the corner three just 5.7 percent of the time and only made 33.7 percent of those shots.
That is where the signing of Thompson could have a big effect on the Dallas offense. Last season, Thompson made 40 percent of his shots from the corners, but he only shot from that location at an eight percent frequency.
The struggles on the NBA's biggest stage made it clear that the Mavericks needed a consistent outlet from beyond the arc, who could only thrive in catch-and-shoot situations. Thompson seemingly ticks that box, despite not being the same player he was when the Warriors were at the height of their dynasty.
However, even at this stage of his career, he is on paper a strong fit for a Mavericks team that has hopes of avenging its Finals loss.
