DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks made a change to the lineup on Wednesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans. Klay Thompson — who had started all seven of the games he appeared in this season heading into the contest — is being moved to the bench. D'Angelo Russell draws his first start of the season as a result. Russell is joined by Max Christie, Cooper Flagg, PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford in the starting lineup.
Thompson has been stuck in an undeniable slump so far in the 2025-26 season, and the Mavericks are hoping this move will get him going. Jason Kidd previously addressed Thompson's struggles.
“He’s gotta keep shooting, he’s a shooter,” Kidd said of Thompson on October 29. “He’s been in this league for a long time. For him, it’s to continue to take these looks. He’s getting great looks, they are just not going down for him right now.”
Thompson is averaging 8.1 points per game while shooting just 31.8 percent from the field and 26.2 percent from deep. He is one of the greatest three-point shooters of all-time, but Thompson is clearly still trying to find his groove this year.
Russell, meanwhile, earns his first start as mentioned. The Mavs have been searching for answers around Cooper Flagg, and perhaps starting Russell at point guard and moving Flagg to the three will help matters. Russell has averaged 13.6 points, 6.0 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game off the bench up to this point in the 2025-26 campaign.
Russell and Thompson will look to positively impact the Mavericks in their new roles on Wednesday against the Pelicans.
