Monday was media day for the Dallas Mavericks, giving fans their first look at the new additions and getting comments from the Mavs’ superstars. The biggest move Dallas made this offseason was bringing in Klay Thompson as part of a sign-and-trade. The four-time champion and future Hall of Famer is leaving the Golden State Warriors for the first time in his career and Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving both seem excited about the addition.
Doncic’s first reaction to the addition was “Unbelievable. He’s a four-time champion, he’s an amazing player, so I was very excited that he signed with us. I can’t wait to play with him.”
Doncic was later asked what Thompson will add to the offense. “You basically can’t help off him. When me and [Kyrie] have the ball, you basically can’t help from Klay because if you leave him wide open he’s going to make it, so I think the spacing is going to be crucial for us.”
Irving played a big part in recruiting Thompson to Dallas and said his own time in Dallas helped a lot. “If you ask any of us, we feel like we got better as a team,” Irving said. “It’s easy to… convince Klay to come here because of what I have experienced thus far in the past year and a half of just being welcomed and embraced… This team does a great job of protecting you, not just on the court but off the court. They go out of their way to make sure you feel special… Being here in Dallas gave him an outsider’s view of what it could be like for him. I’m excited he decided to come here… I feel like our dreams can be possible because he’s here now. He’s added some great value to our championship aspirations.”
Dallas feels like they lost in the NBA Finals to Boston because of their lack of outside shooting. Thompson is one of the greatest shooters in NBA history, and even if he’s coming off a down season by his standards, he still shot close to 39% from three-point range and is still widely respected as a deep threat.
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