Out of all the departures during this past July’s free agency, there’s one that stood out from the rest: Klay Thompson leaving the Golden State Warriors.
Thompson is a future Hall-of-Famer that helped stir the Dubs to four NBA championships, all while co-leading a game-altering, three-point revolution with Stephen Curry, so yeah, him going elsewhere was a certified “end of an era” type of thing.
But, contract disputes and all, both parties have moved on. He’s with the Dallas Mavericks now, and the Warriors have seemingly plugged in multiple players to help fill the void, both in the rotation and in the salary cap.
With the 2024-25 season starting, how have both sides looked, and what have they positioned themselves into? Let’s briefly check.
The Mavs are coming off an NBA Finals appearance – a rough one at that, however, as they lost in five games to the Boston Celtics. Nevertheless, the contending core is set, so Thompson, as of now at least, is in a nice spot. The shooting, veteran presence, and championship DNA can be quite the addition alongside the prolific backcourt of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, with Doncic an elite among elites in terms of scoring and offensive repertoire, and a probable future MVP, and Irving, a showman guard who can also shoot the lights out and arguably the most skilled player in NBA history.
Before anyone gets too excited, though, note that there are concerns. Thompson has had major injuries, which includes missing two full seasons, and while he has performed superbly multiple times after that, and even won a title, he’s still almost up there in age – he’ll turn 35 this coming February. It’s very hit-or-miss for the most part, and what makes it tough is when he’s on, it’s really on, and when it’s not, it’s horrifically bad.
Here’s one of his preseason games last week:
All in all, Thompson only put up 7.0 points on a woeful 24.1% shooting across three preseason games on 19 minutes of action per outing. In fact, his 21 total points was eclipsed by—brace yourselves—Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James!
Dallas finished the preseason just 1-3.
Of course, those exhibition games mean little overall as real regular season battle hasn’t started yet, and those numbers will revert back to zero. Thompson could deliver a neat campaign for all we know. Valid concern? Yes. Should you dwell on it? No.
How about the Warriors?
Stephen Curry is 36 years old (37 this coming March), and shouldn’t be burdened to score in bunches regularly, even though he’s still very, very capable of doing so. They will miss Curry and Thompson shooting the lights out, but they at least have some pieces to work with. Though filled with on-court shenanigans, Draymond Green is still a vocal leader and defensive presence, while Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, and Jonathan Kuminga have emerged as probable figures in years to come, granted it’s in a weird spot as of now as they failed to reach an extension with Kuminga.
The front office also brought in an array of new faces to make up for Thompson. It could turn out to be underrated soon enough as it addressed a multitude of needs. Sharpshooter Buddy Hield, savvy veteran Kyle Anderson, and defensive guard De’Anthony Melton all look interesting on paper under the Warriors’ system.
The Warriors finished the preseason a spotless 6-0, with Hield and Melton looking good in their individual roles.
The Mavs open their season on Friday, October 25th, at home against the San Antonio Spurs, while the Warriors will debut tomorrow, October 24th, when they visit the Portland Trail Blazers , in downtown Oregon.
Thompson and the Warriors, meanwhile, will meet on November 13th in San Francisco.
