The Dallas Mavericks made it to the NBA Finals this year before falling to the Boston Celtics.
Now, an already talented roster is adding one of the greatest sharpshooters in NBA history. The Mavericks have signed Klay Thompson to a three-year, $50 million dollar contract, adding to its core an integral part of the Warriors' dynastic run.
Despite being a big-time signing, the news hasn’t moved the Mavericks title odds, with Thompson's diminishing skillset a factor in the lack of movement on the odds board. The Mavericks had the seventh-best odds at FanDuel at +1000 before his addition and remained that way even after his signing.
Thompson – a five-time NBA All-Star and two-time All-NBA third team selection – has averaged 19.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists over his career. He's also a proven big-time playoff performer. He’s appeared in 158 postseason games, averaging 19.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists.
However, Thompson failed to average at least 20 points last year for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign. He averaged 17.9 points, 3.3 boards and 2.3 assists in his final year in Golden State while not compensating adequately on the defensive end. He also came off the bench for 14 games, marking the first time since his rookie year he didn’t start every game.
Thompson appears to be a strong fit for a Mavericks team who averaged the second-most three-point attempts in the league (39.5%) — especially with Tim Hardaway Jr. traded away for cap space before the weekend. He also adds another scorer to a roster that badly needed another against Boston. Dallas had only three players average more than 8.0 points per game in Luka Doncic (29.2), Kyrie Irving (19.8) and P.J. Washington (10.8).
