The longest part of the NBA offseason is here as the Olympics are officially over and training camp is still a month and a half away.
Most of the free agents across the league have already signed with their new teams, and fans are on the edge of their seats for the start of the season in late October. Dallas Mavericks fans in particular are fired up for next season, and they are poised to be a top team in the Western Conference once again.
Dallas made moves to improve their roster around Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving such as trading for Quentin Grimes and signing Naji Marshall, but their biggest move came a couple of days into the offseason when they made a sign-and-trade for Klay Thompson.
Dallas needed more shooting badly after a poor 3-point shooting performance in the NBA Finals, and they went out and got the best shooter on the market.
Last season for the Golden State Warriors, Thompson averaged 17.9 points per game while shooting 38.7 percent from downtown, and although his stats look excellent (even from a “down” year), it’s the stats of his new running mate Doncic that show why he’s the perfect fit in Dallas.
According to BBall Index, Doncic led the NBA in on-ball gravity. This means that teams try to stop Doncic when he has the ball in his hands more than anyone else in the NBA. Teams often send double teams his way, and when Doncic has the ball, the defense is all over him.
Considering that so much of the opposing team’s attention is going towards Doncic, Thompson is going to thrive off the ball. Thompson has been an elite off-ball player for his entire career, and now that he’s playing with Doncic, he is going to be getting more open looks than ever.
The Mavericks are also planning on different and “creative” ways to get Thompson involved in their offense next year, and the opportunities are endless for how they use him. Doncic is one of the best passers in the NBA, and whenever Thompson is open, Doncic will find him.
While all eyes will be on the Doncic-Irving duo next year, the Doncic-Thompson duo and the Doncic-Irving-Thompson trio must be talked about too. The game is going to become much easier for Thompson considering that most of the opposing team’s defense is going to be focused on Doncic, and the second that they give Thompson a couple of inches, Doncic will find him.
