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Four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson signed a three-year, $50 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks over the summer, ending the Golden State Warriors' ‘Splash Brothers' era alongside Warriors superstar Stephen Curry that had a 13-year run. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr called the signing a “great move” for Thompson, while others wonder how much the 34-year-old shooter has left in the tank to help superstar Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving and the Western Conference champion Mavericks return to the NBA Finals in 2025. However, for Dallas' minority team owner Mark Cuban, he couldn't think of a better place for Thompson to begin a new chapter in his future Hall of Fame career.
Cuban joined Shannon Sharpe on a recent episode of “Club Shay Shay,” and talked about Thompson's state of mind heading into 2024-25 with his new team after being ousted by his former team as it embarks on a new era of Warriors basketball.
“Steph's not going anywhere, right? LeBron's moved around just for different reasons, but the number two guy, if it's not going the way you want, then, yeah, the door is open,” Cuban said. “But it takes somebody who's special, somebody who's got the confidence in themselves, somebody who's got the ambition, and somebody who really has something to prove. And Klay's got a lot to prove, which is great because those are the kinds of guys you want on your squad, right? Because they're going to work harder than ever to prove people wrong.”
After Klay went scoreless in the Warriors' 118-94 loss to the Sacramento Kings in the 2024 Play-in tournament, the Mavericks owner believed Thompson was ready to leave Golden State.
“I think Klay was ready for a move, right? All the grief he got last year, particularly the way it ended. So, the timing was right,” Cuban added. “Kudos to Klay for being willing to make the move.”
“@KlayThompson's got a lot to prove. … Klay was ready for a move. All the grief he got last year – particularly the way it ended. So the timing was right.” – @mcuban pic.twitter.com/FA3oVzKw9K
— Club Shay Shay (@ClubShayShay) September 25, 2024
Mark Cuban says Celtics' 3-point shooting, stellar defense was the difference in 2024 NBA Finals
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Mark Cuban credits head coach Jason Kidd and Kyrie Irving for recruiting Klay Thompson to the Mavericks during the offseason. As for the 2024 NBA Finals, Cuban says the Celtics got the best of the Mavs due to their 3-point shooting, and high-level defense.
“The Celtics are good,” Cuban laughed. ‘They didn't have a lot of weaknesses, and in order to beat them, we had to make a lot of threes, and we just didn't. Our three-point shooting wasn't up to par where it was was during the playoffs or the regular season, we couldn't get stops like we needed to.”
Cuban believes the Mavs will make life easier for Thompson and hopes it will impact both ends of the floor.
