Mavericks got their guy in Klay Thompson, but he doesn’t solve their important problems

The Dallas Mavericks made the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011 this season, and after falling short to the Boston Celtics, they’ve been incredibly active during free agency to try and get back there. Dallas has signed forward Naji Marshall, offloaded Tim Hardaway Jr. to the Pistons for young guard Quentin Grimes and landed four-time champion Klay Thompson in a reported sign-and-trade deal with the Golden State Warriors.

Assuming the deal to get Thompson goes through as is, the Mavericks have a projected starting lineup next season of:

On paper, there’s a ton of talent there and a lot to like about that starting group. We’ve already seen that Doncic and Irving can coexist, and lead a team to the NBA Finals, and Lively had a rookie season that will practically force him into the starting lineup for next season. Washington had his moments in the postseason on both ends of the floor, and when you add in someone of Thompson’s caliber, it’s a lineup that you would take on most nights in this league. 

But free agency isn’t without its caveats. The Mavericks lost Derrick Jones Jr., their best defender last season, to the Clippers, and they also traded Josh Green as part of that Thompson deal. Green isn’t that big of a loss, but the swap of Jones and Green for Marshall and Thompson doesn’t feel like as big of an upgrade as it should.

This isn’t necessarily a knock on Thompson, but rather the problems that he doesn’t entirely solve for the Mavericks. Against the Celtics, the Mavericks had no answer defensively for the multitude of offensive threats they possessed on the perimeter. Even with Washington and Jones in the lineup, the Mavericks really lacked a point-of-attack defender. Someone who could disrupt Boston’s actions on the perimeter and make life more difficult for the five-out offense they run. 

Thompson certainly isn’t that, and since missing two seasons with significant injuries, he hasn’t been the same level of defender he was during the prime years of Golden State’s dynasty. The All-Defensive version of Thompson from…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/mavericks-got-their-guy-in-klay-thompson-but-he-doesnt-solve-their-important-problems/

Author : Jasmyn Wimbish

Publish date : 2024-07-01 21:55:55

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.