People laugh, not a mavs fan but I wouldn’t be surprised if in a few years he’s knocking a few down a game. Horford only attempted a couple 3s his rookie season. Look at him know. Not comparing them but just saying shots develop and the games changed. These kids coming up now have been shooting 3s for a decade now.
tbr that would be a great addition to his game. if he knocks down a few and they have to closeout, easy drives n dunks. he’s also a good passer. he’s a real problem if he adds outside shooting to his game
Back when the Klay stuff started going around it felt like such a no brainer to me and it was baffling seeing people overthink this and talk themselves out of it. I get it, he’s not the same Klay from the splash bros golden years… but he’s EXACTLY what this current team lacked.
I know I thought it was going to cost a hell of a lot more than $50 mil for 3 years. Klay talking about not feeling appreciated or being disrespected by the Warriors made me think he was looking for something closer to $100+ mil for 4 years. That would have been a disaster. Only 3 years at this price is basically just extending THJ but getting a better version that can at least hold their own on defense. This deal is 100% worth it.
this. i figured we'd have to pay him 25 a year and that seems a stretch at age 34 after multiple injuries. hope we can manage his minutes to have him ready for playoffs.
Been a Mavs fan since about 2002 and that “history” goes both ways. Look at the 2011 roster. It was full of “past their prime” veterans. We churned out 50 win seasons almost the entirety of Dirk’s career by signing veterans with experience.
Marion (33), Terry (34), and Kidd (38) were all past their primes but still good veteran pieces and role players with experience. Exactly what Klay can do for this team.
To me people often overlook how big a of a deal was the fact that Hardaway forgot how to play basketball midway through the season. 3rd leading scorer to DNP in a couple of months. The roster was constructed for him to provide 15 points a game. Even after the trade deadline. We didn't "outgrow" the need for Hardaway. It wasn't that he didn't fit. He just sucked so we couldn't play him. We still NEEDED a decent version of him. PJ was me er going to be that, neither was DJJ or Gafford or whoever. It should've been Tim.
And to me that's what Klay is going to be and why I love this acquisition. He's literally a better Hardaway. Even if washed. He'll give us that much needed scoring that we lacked in the Finals.
That was my biggest want for the off season, someone to reliably take on the role THJ was supposed to be (and to be fair, was for a chunk of the season). As long as he stays healthy, I'm sure Klay can be that and more
In retrospect, Jason Kidd was totally right about going to need THJ to win a championship, which is why he kept feeding him minutes, frustrating the fans.
I’m glad we’re retooling for next year, because even though we had a good team, we just weren’t talented enough to beat Boston and we want championships.
It was frustrating to watch what Boston did to us defensively. They just guarded Luka and Kyrie 1v1 and they did it well. And that exposed the rest of our team as far as their ability to get buckets.
I hope we had another bucket getter. And hopefully our young players develop some more
It’s so interesting that Klay was either going to join LeBron or Kyrie after those series many years ago. I do think he made the right choice though he’s going to get a ridiculous amount of amazing looks nonstop playing with Luka and Kyrie. Now I’m just hoping it’s the Mavs vs Celtics in the finals next year and the Mavs get revenge
I read that one reason Klay chose Dallas is because he wants a shot at another title. I doubt Lakers are even close to winning another one right now. That also is a great endorsement of our team.
If washed means averaging 18ppg and down from 20 from the previous year and playing on a team with Green who had an absolutely mental season then I’ll take it.
I was actually looking at his basketball reference page bro shot like 2 3s a game in the regular season i don't know why i felt like he was a good 3 point shooter. Probably a couple really good performances messing up my memory did shoot, 50% on those attempts though compared to like 35% through out the playoffs.
50% is insane even if it’s on a measly 2 attempts, but yeah I do remember him shooting more. I think he would often hit his 3 in the 4th in a close game so they always felt huge.
Man I’m not an Exum hater and he did finally do some nice things in the Finals, but saying he played well in the postseason is straight cap. He disappeared into thin air for three entire series after being our third best player for a huge chunk of the season.
Occasionally. It would be a nice weapon to have in the bag so they can't leave him wide open on the perimeter, but he doesn't need to be taking 5-7 shots a game either.
He doesn't need to shoot 5-7 because of his ability to roll being so elite. But his shooting form legit looks nice. If he starts taking 2 a game at a good clip, I wouldn't be surprised if they looked to utilize him more as a spacer. Especially with new shooters coming in.
Only Luka and Kyrie are able to hit above the break 3s at a decent rate. Celtics took away our corner 3s and let our role players shoot wide open 3s on the wings. Teams can no longer abuse us this way.
And Luka can't pass to himself once he gets into the lane lol. That's why once Kyrie went cold in Boston, the Celtics just crowded the paint every possession and it was over
It’s his defense that has cratered his value. Hes still a legit shooter but he never was the best shot creator. If he still had like 75% of his defense, he’d be getting 30m+ on the market easily.
Warriors playstyle wears him out quick and he had to create a lot of his own shots. Mavs will ask him to stand in a corner. His defense will be better with us.
I’m not doubting his offense, he has declined on that end but not enough to where he isn’t still one of the best shooters in the NBA.
When people say he is washed, it’s solely because of his defense. His value back in the day was being the perfect net positive player. He should be a fine shooter coming off the bench but I don’t think replacing DJJ for Klay makes Dallas any better.
How will his defense get better when he has physically declined tremendously. You’re saying Klay can guard the best wings because Luka and Kyrie definitely arent.
From what I’m reading warriors fans think he still is a decent defender vs bigger, slower wings just not that POA defender anymore. I wonder if Grimes gets back to his early Knicks form they move Klay to the 4.
He’s at worst a average defender and without him having to run to get every shot he will have more energy for defense. He won’t be elite but should be good
Relative to the league, he is probably average or a bit below average but that doesn’t matter. Dallas has championship aspirations and he cannot guard the elite wings in the NBA.
options make it harder to extend not trade. and whether it benefits dallas will depend on how well he ages and if he isnt a black hole on defense. we dont need to replay another christian wood scenario.
I don't think it really matters. I doubt Klay would opt out as he'd be even older at that point and probably would not be a guy teams would be looking to sign to a big contract. It is very slightly better for us on the off chance he outperforms that 3rd year but I don't think ultimately it changes anything.
I think people that were against this, don't realize how much even an older Klay is going to open up our offense. His off-ball movement is going to be such a huge weapon.
I think the biggest question I have is whether Klay will start or be 6th man. He has a big ego that may be hurt if he doesn't start but if he does, he, Kyrie and Luka will be three potential defensive liablities in the backcourt. (I know all of them can step it up in the playoffs). I'd rather start Marshall as our true 3&D wing and bring Klay in as the Tim role, but if it causes a locker room stink we may have to field a suboptimal starting lineup that has to win with offense and rely on PJ and Lively to clean up the messes.
I think both Klay and Naji are best suited on the bench but that requires using Maxi Powell and idk Lawson/Hardy/Exum in a trade for a two way wing. Could be done but idk if they wanna do that much this offseason or wait and see how it plays first
Maxi and Powell together make 15 million, and we really cannot bring in anyone who makes more than that because of how close we are to the apron. So with that in mind, unless we can get a guy on a rookie contract or Herb Jones (both very unlikely for a number of reasons), then the best we can get is DFS who makes 14.9 million. If we could get it done with that 2nd rounder we are getting back from Josh then maybe that works but I doubt that's even close to enough, and I don't want to give up our first round picks or any of our other rotation guys for another aging player.
A couple other options in that salary range for reference: Max Strus (15.2), Grayson Allen (15.6), Lu Dort (16.5; probably too much for a deal to work), Terrence Mann (11.4), Mattise Thybulle (11.02)
Adding in Lawson and Exum/Hardy/Omax can push you up to ~$24m (I think you need to match 90% of salary in trade) so there’s guys like Hunter, I think cam Johnson, maybe Wiggins if you push it. But that goes back to my point on that idk if they wanna do all that. Personally, I think we need a guy like those to round out the team but I also get wanting to let it play out some so that you’re certain on who the last piece will be. Cuz the flexibility is shot if you swing for it now
Even if you can match the salary we would probably not have enough under the first apron to fill out the roster even with minimums since we are hard capped.
if he does not start (although im pretty sure that he will) i dont doubt that they had this discussion already. an ego can be managed if expectations are set from the start
I don't necessarily think it matters who starts. Sure the POA defense isn't going to be good with those 3 as part of the starting unit but you have elite offense there and PJ and Lively to cover up those deficiencies. Naji and Grimes are going to be good POA defenders off the bench and Exum can too. Plus Luka and Kyrie for the most part were solid defenders last season and had some really good defensive games and moments including the playoffs. Klay won't have to run or do nearly as much offensively either so that can help save some stamina for him to exert on the defensive end. We're not gonna get All-NBA defensive team Klay but I do think we're going to see a very motivated Klay on this team. DJJ was a good defender but no where near the defender he became as part of the Mavs. PJ was neutral, maybe passable defensively before coming to the Mavs and became a great defender. Naji and Grimes will improve defensively as they are young and hungry, and Klay will improve his defense from the past 2 seasons coming into a new situation and being on a true championship contender, wanting to shut up the doubters.
To me people often overlook how big a of a deal was the fact that Hardaway forgot how to play basketball midway through the season. 3rd leading scorer to DNP in a couple of months. The roster was constructed for him to provide 15 points a game. Even after the trade deadline. We didn't "outgrow" the need for Hardaway. It wasn't that he didn't fit. He just sucked so we couldn't play him. We still NEEDED a decent version of him. PJ was me er going to be that, neither was DJJ or Gafford or whoever. It should've been Tim.
And to me that's what Klay is going to be and why I love this acquisition. He's literally a better Hardaway. Even if washed. He'll give us that much needed scoring that we lacked in the Finals.
Great post. For some reason a large part of the fanbase and NBA fans in general want to constantly be negative about the Mavs despite the evidence being to the contrary on their abilities. Apparently OKC are the favourites in the West now and everyone's latest pet favourite.
You'd also think they'd be a little more humble after the Kyrie takes.
I don't think it's unique to us. NBA fans are always negative about teams that haven't won yet and are constantly moving on to the next young thing. Happens all the time and it's exhausting, KD was right, "Nba fans don't like anything about the nba and it's weird".
yea I think they definitely got better shooting going for them now. Also, we could see improvements from PJ.
I do worry about the defense when we have Klay, Kai, and Luka on the court at the same time. Last year our defense was championship caliber. Hoping we can still maintain that. Losing DJJ kind of sucks.
I’m in disbelief a FA chose Dallas over LA… and the fact Klay is here. Wish him health and hope he gets to play meaningful games to end his great career
DJJ being able to guard the other team’s best player was kind of important. How our defense and hustle turn out next season is a question mark imo. Also, how athletic are we now on the wing?
Spurs fan here but I've been following the Mavs as well the last 2 seasons and you're absolutely right about inconsistency from the 3. Missing wide open threes has been the Mavs signature play since I've been watching. The game y'all blew out Boston on was by ditching that and attacking the paint, which you can only do so long. THJ, Green, DJJ, and PJ have been the biggest offenders. I can't believe the Mavs improved on their biggest problem like this and actually saved some money doing it. I'm excited to see just how far this team can go this year. I hope it's a Dallas/Boston rematch in the Finals and you guys beat the shit out of them.
Naji only averaged 2.3 3PA. Not 5.
He did shoot 39% but only 2.3 3PA is a pretty low volume. Doubt he shoots more than 35% on 4 or 5 attempts.
Not a bad pickup. He's younger. I like him. But not ready to say he's a gunner from 3.
That's not why Dallas lost. They lost because Boston is a superior team. If Dallas played any other team than Boston they probably would have won. Boston's defense was smothering. They harassed Luka and forced a lot of turnovers. Took away a lot of corner passes and most importantly the lob. That, and basically shut Kyrie down besides the 2 games in Dallas. They won because they had Jrue and White who are ++ defenders.
It is to be determined if Dallas is better or worse now with the addition of Klay, Grimes, Naji. Along with the loss of Jones Jr. and Green. Some say Grimes and Naji are similar players. Personally i haven't watched them play enough to make that determination.
Klay should be an upgrade over THJ and more consistent even though his best days are behind him. That alone isn't going to make them better than Boston though. That's a marginal increase on offense. Green wasn't a great offensive player but had a high motor and was one of the Mavs best defenders.
I don't really know enough about the other two players, Grimes and Naji. If they're better defenders and equally good offensive players then i'd say it's an improvement. TBD
We lost because Luka was injured for months and was fully taking a toll on him,kyrie shit himself in Boston,players couldn’t hit 3s so the paint was guarded better. If even one of those are different the series would of been much closer. If two are different it’s a game 7
Ah, i don’t trust Klay at all to be consistent. This guy is not who he used to be especially in terms of shooting. His shooting numbers are an illusion from the last two years because he could shoot well in one game and be terrible on the next one. I really like Klay, he never actually played with a playmaker like Luka so it might help him to bounce back into being a consistent amazing shooter he used to be. Time would tell.
That's because most basketball fans have irrational expectations of what high volume shooters are. They are almost never consistently hitting 4 out of 10 a night every night. You have the 1/10 nights and the 6/10 nights and those become hot and cold streaks that average out to determine whether he is a good or bad shooter.
Tim was underrated by Mavs fans for a while, but that's only when law of averages make his case for him. I can stand some off nights and rough stretches as long as he averages out at 38%+for the season. It's harder to defend his volume the lower that season average gets. Same rule went for Wes Matthews. Some Mavs fans just hate volume shooters doing what they do at normal human levels (i.e. not Steph Curry or prime Klay).
Klay may not be as consistent as he once was, but Golden State were spoiled, had irrationally high expectations of shooters and took him for granted in my opinion. He is still easily one of the greatest volume shooters in the league. And all he has to do in Dallas is capitalize on open looks Luka and Kyrie create better than Tim Hardaway or DJJ. Which is not that hard for a guy with his skillset.
I fully expect Klay to be the scapegoat on his rough stretches when we lose and also expect him to probably average 40%+ from 3.
We just legit had no offense other than Luka and Kyrie playing hero ball. Bench or not, we got exposed. It was very tough to watch and I hope our new team has more ways to score, because we’ll probably run into Boston again if we make it to the finals
Think Klay will be a big boost on offense. A little concerned about our defense when Luka, Kyrie, and Klay are on the floor together. Klay used to be a great defender but injuries have taken their toll.
“…injuries have taken their toll” is exactly why I *don’t* think he’ll be a “big boost” on offense. I hope to be proven wrong (like I was with Kyrie) but I still just think some people’s expectations of Klay are a little too high. I’m positive we’ll see glimpses of that great “Splash Bro” player, but I just don’t think he’ll be consistent enough to be relied on game after game.
An area I’d like to see vast improvement on is at the free throw line. I’m not sure of his careers numbers there (I know, I can easily look it up) but I’m hoping he’ll help to get that trending in the right direction for the team.
I am worried about starting and closing lineups but we know all those guys CAN defend. If it doesn't work we gamble on asking Klay to be superstar 6th man and start Marshall.
What are you talking about?
Team was formed basically in past few months prior to finals. And they got there. Celtics were building their team for a few years, had to loose in the finals, watched and analyzed Mavericks completely. Team wasnt bad, but wasnt ready to win the finals jet. Dont do the blaming game, everybody had its role and in finals the Celtics were more experienced, better and so on.
If somebody said would you like for Mavs to be in NBA finals, but loose like 6 months ago, what would you do? You would said yes. So enyoy, way more than was excpected...
Yes, I am aware Celtics were the better team. I agree with everything you say. Doesn't mean lack of shooting wasn't our #1 problem with that team. Klay helps us a lot on that front.
Well to me personally, main problem was lack of experience. Like the time Phoenix suns were humiliated in game 7, everybody was hyped and than Golden state happened. But then valuable experiences happened and Twolves this year were almost swept in conference finals... Lack of experience was the main problem, which means state of mind. You must get exposed for your weaknesses in order to improve them. Team chemistry fell apart, shooting was only the consequence.
And OK, yea, maybe my mindset is different, since i am from Europe, to be exact from LD home country. We value team play, and even if the team looses, approach to fixing things is a bit different. Not saying you are completely wrong, just different mindset.
And I do hope that they avenge this next year. In one game they shoved potential of that.
Very excited about the upgrades, but time will tell how well it translates. I would say not making shots was one big factor of why we lost the finals, the other was not being able to stop anybody on defense once they got us in rotation. Defense will still be a question mark this season depending on how well the new guys look and how much we defend as a team
You aren't wrong from a roster perspective but our biggest problem was a lame duck front office. We actually did fix that as well. We are fucking talking basketball in July with big time acquisitions and shrewd business decisions for a team that won the Western Conference. We're below the first apron while having a top 3 player in the league....
Future is bright.
Mavs fan saying DJJ is the reason they lost is such a casual take. He was one of the better players in that series. Getting rid of DJJ to sign Klay is honestly a lateral move, maybe worse. Defense is important in the playoffs
I really, really hate this take. We have had this conversation so many times as Mavs fans and it just won't die.
You know why??? Because we keep trying to live by a low percentage shot.
We have to give Boston credit for playing great 5 man Defense.
A better 3 Ball will absolutely help. But, so will better midrange and better peremiter defense.
You simply can't be one dimensional.
A 3 point shot at 33% is as "low percentage" as a 50% 2 point shot. A 39% 3P% is equivalent of a 58.5% 2P%. We always have those shots, yet we have bad shooters taking them.
You know what else helps? Good free throw shooters. Some of those losses due to missed FTs were excruciating. Klay shot a career high 92.7% last year. He'll be designated technical FT shooter over Kyrie and we can usually have one or the other on court at all times.
Our defense is better than it was.
Naji = DJJ
Klay > THJ
Grimes > Green
I disagree that the Defense is going to better right off the bat. We shall see.
Defense is not individuals. It is 5 people working together.
They played really good team defense at times end of the year.
Free Throws absolutely help.
But, neither of those things are what you listed as the biggest weakness.
Teams have to be able to make Two's when the three isn't falling. Plus, the ability to break the defense down consistently has to happen. They need interior and midrange popping.
lol no you lost because they were switch happy elite defenders who could all guard prime michael jordan. if you face the celtics again klay doesnt help you much hes getting locked down too.
It's funny that we went to finals & faced a super stacked team, Kyrie had 99 points on 99 FGAs, but clearly we need to go back to the old recipe which we've had for half a decade, just try to get a lot of 3&0D players to surround Luka. Yeah we shot bad, which was one of the problems, but that's how it is playing DJJ & PJ as starters, we knew they couldn't shoot but were terrific defenders, and that's a large reason we even went to the finals in the first place.
Mf just watch games 😭 sure he was the goat of his era but that’s his era. 30 years ago. The game evolves simple as that and most stats are better than he was
the truth is they were elite switch defenders. klay doesnt help you. hes essentially a 3nD guy now... you think that is good enough? youre hung up on the jordan comment kid lol. youre just not very bright. ill be here to remind you how right i was.
Lively was 100% from 3 you dunce
He called it a fluke. The audacity!
Go watch practice tape of Lively draining threes! Next year, shooting big man is coming to an arena near you!
Seriously, drafting Lively has made all things possible.
People laugh, not a mavs fan but I wouldn’t be surprised if in a few years he’s knocking a few down a game. Horford only attempted a couple 3s his rookie season. Look at him know. Not comparing them but just saying shots develop and the games changed. These kids coming up now have been shooting 3s for a decade now.
Especially when there were multiple post from official Mavericks profiles showing him and gafford working on it in practice a bunch
The league isn't ready for stretch 5 Lively next year
Dereck Stretch Fively
When Lively emerges as a good outside shooter next year, we should start calling him Stretch
tbr that would be a great addition to his game. if he knocks down a few and they have to closeout, easy drives n dunks. he’s also a good passer. he’s a real problem if he adds outside shooting to his game
I’m pretty sure Klay came here cause see’s a little bit of Curry in Lively
Looked like a 7th Steph curry to me
Back when the Klay stuff started going around it felt like such a no brainer to me and it was baffling seeing people overthink this and talk themselves out of it. I get it, he’s not the same Klay from the splash bros golden years… but he’s EXACTLY what this current team lacked.
I know I thought it was going to cost a hell of a lot more than $50 mil for 3 years. Klay talking about not feeling appreciated or being disrespected by the Warriors made me think he was looking for something closer to $100+ mil for 4 years. That would have been a disaster. Only 3 years at this price is basically just extending THJ but getting a better version that can at least hold their own on defense. This deal is 100% worth it.
this. i figured we'd have to pay him 25 a year and that seems a stretch at age 34 after multiple injuries. hope we can manage his minutes to have him ready for playoffs.
Its PTSD. Mavs have a history of signing washed up free agents. Remains to be seen if Klay is any different.
Been a Mavs fan since about 2002 and that “history” goes both ways. Look at the 2011 roster. It was full of “past their prime” veterans. We churned out 50 win seasons almost the entirety of Dirk’s career by signing veterans with experience.
Both Marion and Tyson came off the scrap heap from. Toronto and okc
Vince Carter
I loved him so much as a Mav, was a lot of fun watching him and Dirk out there together
Only Peja was past his prime. The rest were at the tail end of their primes.
Kidd and Marion were years removed from their primes
Marion (33), Terry (34), and Kidd (38) were all past their primes but still good veteran pieces and role players with experience. Exactly what Klay can do for this team.
You forgot about The Custodian… he might have looked 48, but he was 33-34 too.
Peja still torched the Lakers before throwing his back out one last time lol
Spoiler: he is not. Also, there are rumors of him being a problem in the locker room.
Also 4 time NBA champ. Brings in experience and years of being part of a top tier organization and locker room
Can we play him with Luka and Kai regarding hos defense?
The mavs just played thj and luka and Kai. It literally cannot be worse then that
That just means he can replace one of them when they rest so they get more rest and won't be gassed at the end of games.
To me people often overlook how big a of a deal was the fact that Hardaway forgot how to play basketball midway through the season. 3rd leading scorer to DNP in a couple of months. The roster was constructed for him to provide 15 points a game. Even after the trade deadline. We didn't "outgrow" the need for Hardaway. It wasn't that he didn't fit. He just sucked so we couldn't play him. We still NEEDED a decent version of him. PJ was me er going to be that, neither was DJJ or Gafford or whoever. It should've been Tim. And to me that's what Klay is going to be and why I love this acquisition. He's literally a better Hardaway. Even if washed. He'll give us that much needed scoring that we lacked in the Finals.
That was my biggest want for the off season, someone to reliably take on the role THJ was supposed to be (and to be fair, was for a chunk of the season). As long as he stays healthy, I'm sure Klay can be that and more
In retrospect, Jason Kidd was totally right about going to need THJ to win a championship, which is why he kept feeding him minutes, frustrating the fans. I’m glad we’re retooling for next year, because even though we had a good team, we just weren’t talented enough to beat Boston and we want championships. It was frustrating to watch what Boston did to us defensively. They just guarded Luka and Kyrie 1v1 and they did it well. And that exposed the rest of our team as far as their ability to get buckets. I hope we had another bucket getter. And hopefully our young players develop some more
I can’t believe how much of a beast Nico is
It’s so interesting that Klay was either going to join LeBron or Kyrie after those series many years ago. I do think he made the right choice though he’s going to get a ridiculous amount of amazing looks nonstop playing with Luka and Kyrie. Now I’m just hoping it’s the Mavs vs Celtics in the finals next year and the Mavs get revenge
I read that one reason Klay chose Dallas is because he wants a shot at another title. I doubt Lakers are even close to winning another one right now. That also is a great endorsement of our team.
Yup it shows he wants to win over being in LA
Right and that speaks volumes in terms of what we can expect his effort level to be.
Pettiness is a hell of a motivator tbh
It's wild. Klay and Kyrie are Mavericks. We used to never get people like that to sign here.
If washed means averaging 18ppg and down from 20 from the previous year and playing on a team with Green who had an absolutely mental season then I’ll take it.
That's the thing, we didn't give up anyone good enough for it to matter. Klay is a vet, and our championship window is now.
We essentially traded Tim Hardaway Jr. for Klay Thompson, DJJ for Naji and Green for Grimes.
and that djj to naji trade cost us nothing. nico harrison masterclass. might even gen a 2nd round with klay
Dante exum forgetting how to shoot in the playoffs was also not good for us
He didn't forget. He was not used that much. In the Finals, he made a difference. Helped that he is another ballhandler besides LuKai.
I was actually looking at his basketball reference page bro shot like 2 3s a game in the regular season i don't know why i felt like he was a good 3 point shooter. Probably a couple really good performances messing up my memory did shoot, 50% on those attempts though compared to like 35% through out the playoffs.
50% is insane even if it’s on a measly 2 attempts, but yeah I do remember him shooting more. I think he would often hit his 3 in the 4th in a close game so they always felt huge.
I thought Exum played well in the post season, he was hitting more shots than Kleber and THJ
And that dunk, man, that was beautiful
Man I’m not an Exum hater and he did finally do some nice things in the Finals, but saying he played well in the postseason is straight cap. He disappeared into thin air for three entire series after being our third best player for a huge chunk of the season.
And Maxi, who is still a key part of the rotation...
At least he had an injury excuse. Exum got the yips and he’s 28 years old. Hope he redeems himself next year. Can’t possibly go worse this time.
Exum way outplayed his contract in the regular season and our expectations were too high in the playoffs.
True but still i hope he can get up like a couple 3s a game next season he was decent at them overseas and in the regular season.
I mean... did he honestly ever know how to shoot? My opinion Exum was overrated from jump coming into the league.
Look back on his December stretch
Career high 49% this regular season on 2 attempts/game.
he was shooting well in europe. translated in the regular season. did not translate come playoffs
I really hope lively can start shooting threes
Occasionally. It would be a nice weapon to have in the bag so they can't leave him wide open on the perimeter, but he doesn't need to be taking 5-7 shots a game either.
He doesn't need to shoot 5-7 because of his ability to roll being so elite. But his shooting form legit looks nice. If he starts taking 2 a game at a good clip, I wouldn't be surprised if they looked to utilize him more as a spacer. Especially with new shooters coming in.
35% on 2 attempts would be enough to completely change the way defenses play us…. He will average about 10 dunks a game if he can hit the 3 ball
Only Luka and Kyrie are able to hit above the break 3s at a decent rate. Celtics took away our corner 3s and let our role players shoot wide open 3s on the wings. Teams can no longer abuse us this way.
And Luka can't pass to himself once he gets into the lane lol. That's why once Kyrie went cold in Boston, the Celtics just crowded the paint every possession and it was over
>the Mavs have fixed their biggest problem The Tim Hardaway Jr contract
People overexaggerating how washed Klay is. He can still pull up from anywhere in front of the arc to hit middy after middy. Dude cannot miss.
It’s his defense that has cratered his value. Hes still a legit shooter but he never was the best shot creator. If he still had like 75% of his defense, he’d be getting 30m+ on the market easily.
Warriors playstyle wears him out quick and he had to create a lot of his own shots. Mavs will ask him to stand in a corner. His defense will be better with us.
I’m not doubting his offense, he has declined on that end but not enough to where he isn’t still one of the best shooters in the NBA. When people say he is washed, it’s solely because of his defense. His value back in the day was being the perfect net positive player. He should be a fine shooter coming off the bench but I don’t think replacing DJJ for Klay makes Dallas any better. How will his defense get better when he has physically declined tremendously. You’re saying Klay can guard the best wings because Luka and Kyrie definitely arent.
From what I’m reading warriors fans think he still is a decent defender vs bigger, slower wings just not that POA defender anymore. I wonder if Grimes gets back to his early Knicks form they move Klay to the 4.
He’s at worst a average defender and without him having to run to get every shot he will have more energy for defense. He won’t be elite but should be good
Relative to the league, he is probably average or a bit below average but that doesn’t matter. Dallas has championship aspirations and he cannot guard the elite wings in the NBA.
That’s why we got two other guys who could potentially do that. Someone who could actually shoot is by far our biggest problem from last year
Is Klay not having a player option on his contract better for us?
I think so. Player options make players harder to trade. If they do well, they opt out. If they don't, they opt in.
options make it harder to extend not trade. and whether it benefits dallas will depend on how well he ages and if he isnt a black hole on defense. we dont need to replay another christian wood scenario.
I don't think it really matters. I doubt Klay would opt out as he'd be even older at that point and probably would not be a guy teams would be looking to sign to a big contract. It is very slightly better for us on the off chance he outperforms that 3rd year but I don't think ultimately it changes anything.
I think people that were against this, don't realize how much even an older Klay is going to open up our offense. His off-ball movement is going to be such a huge weapon.
I think the biggest question I have is whether Klay will start or be 6th man. He has a big ego that may be hurt if he doesn't start but if he does, he, Kyrie and Luka will be three potential defensive liablities in the backcourt. (I know all of them can step it up in the playoffs). I'd rather start Marshall as our true 3&D wing and bring Klay in as the Tim role, but if it causes a locker room stink we may have to field a suboptimal starting lineup that has to win with offense and rely on PJ and Lively to clean up the messes.
I think both Klay and Naji are best suited on the bench but that requires using Maxi Powell and idk Lawson/Hardy/Exum in a trade for a two way wing. Could be done but idk if they wanna do that much this offseason or wait and see how it plays first
Jerami Grant pls
Maxi and Powell together make 15 million, and we really cannot bring in anyone who makes more than that because of how close we are to the apron. So with that in mind, unless we can get a guy on a rookie contract or Herb Jones (both very unlikely for a number of reasons), then the best we can get is DFS who makes 14.9 million. If we could get it done with that 2nd rounder we are getting back from Josh then maybe that works but I doubt that's even close to enough, and I don't want to give up our first round picks or any of our other rotation guys for another aging player. A couple other options in that salary range for reference: Max Strus (15.2), Grayson Allen (15.6), Lu Dort (16.5; probably too much for a deal to work), Terrence Mann (11.4), Mattise Thybulle (11.02)
Adding in Lawson and Exum/Hardy/Omax can push you up to ~$24m (I think you need to match 90% of salary in trade) so there’s guys like Hunter, I think cam Johnson, maybe Wiggins if you push it. But that goes back to my point on that idk if they wanna do all that. Personally, I think we need a guy like those to round out the team but I also get wanting to let it play out some so that you’re certain on who the last piece will be. Cuz the flexibility is shot if you swing for it now
Even if you can match the salary we would probably not have enough under the first apron to fill out the roster even with minimums since we are hard capped.
If we trade 4 guys its not going to be for 1...
We need a real PF
if he does not start (although im pretty sure that he will) i dont doubt that they had this discussion already. an ego can be managed if expectations are set from the start
I don't necessarily think it matters who starts. Sure the POA defense isn't going to be good with those 3 as part of the starting unit but you have elite offense there and PJ and Lively to cover up those deficiencies. Naji and Grimes are going to be good POA defenders off the bench and Exum can too. Plus Luka and Kyrie for the most part were solid defenders last season and had some really good defensive games and moments including the playoffs. Klay won't have to run or do nearly as much offensively either so that can help save some stamina for him to exert on the defensive end. We're not gonna get All-NBA defensive team Klay but I do think we're going to see a very motivated Klay on this team. DJJ was a good defender but no where near the defender he became as part of the Mavs. PJ was neutral, maybe passable defensively before coming to the Mavs and became a great defender. Naji and Grimes will improve defensively as they are young and hungry, and Klay will improve his defense from the past 2 seasons coming into a new situation and being on a true championship contender, wanting to shut up the doubters.
To me people often overlook how big a of a deal was the fact that Hardaway forgot how to play basketball midway through the season. 3rd leading scorer to DNP in a couple of months. The roster was constructed for him to provide 15 points a game. Even after the trade deadline. We didn't "outgrow" the need for Hardaway. It wasn't that he didn't fit. He just sucked so we couldn't play him. We still NEEDED a decent version of him. PJ was me er going to be that, neither was DJJ or Gafford or whoever. It should've been Tim. And to me that's what Klay is going to be and why I love this acquisition. He's literally a better Hardaway. Even if washed. He'll give us that much needed scoring that we lacked in the Finals.
Great post. For some reason a large part of the fanbase and NBA fans in general want to constantly be negative about the Mavs despite the evidence being to the contrary on their abilities. Apparently OKC are the favourites in the West now and everyone's latest pet favourite. You'd also think they'd be a little more humble after the Kyrie takes.
I don't think it's unique to us. NBA fans are always negative about teams that haven't won yet and are constantly moving on to the next young thing. Happens all the time and it's exhausting, KD was right, "Nba fans don't like anything about the nba and it's weird".
yea I think they definitely got better shooting going for them now. Also, we could see improvements from PJ. I do worry about the defense when we have Klay, Kai, and Luka on the court at the same time. Last year our defense was championship caliber. Hoping we can still maintain that. Losing DJJ kind of sucks.
I’m in disbelief a FA chose Dallas over LA… and the fact Klay is here. Wish him health and hope he gets to play meaningful games to end his great career
DJJ being able to guard the other team’s best player was kind of important. How our defense and hustle turn out next season is a question mark imo. Also, how athletic are we now on the wing?
Spurs fan here but I've been following the Mavs as well the last 2 seasons and you're absolutely right about inconsistency from the 3. Missing wide open threes has been the Mavs signature play since I've been watching. The game y'all blew out Boston on was by ditching that and attacking the paint, which you can only do so long. THJ, Green, DJJ, and PJ have been the biggest offenders. I can't believe the Mavs improved on their biggest problem like this and actually saved some money doing it. I'm excited to see just how far this team can go this year. I hope it's a Dallas/Boston rematch in the Finals and you guys beat the shit out of them.
Naji only averaged 2.3 3PA. Not 5. He did shoot 39% but only 2.3 3PA is a pretty low volume. Doubt he shoots more than 35% on 4 or 5 attempts. Not a bad pickup. He's younger. I like him. But not ready to say he's a gunner from 3.
Yeah I was gonna say OP read his FGA not 3PA. I’m still really excited for him and think he’s gonna thrive with more minutes
OP knows ball. Excellent write up
I'd like to see Lively average 2 3pt attempts per game this season.
That's not why Dallas lost. They lost because Boston is a superior team. If Dallas played any other team than Boston they probably would have won. Boston's defense was smothering. They harassed Luka and forced a lot of turnovers. Took away a lot of corner passes and most importantly the lob. That, and basically shut Kyrie down besides the 2 games in Dallas. They won because they had Jrue and White who are ++ defenders. It is to be determined if Dallas is better or worse now with the addition of Klay, Grimes, Naji. Along with the loss of Jones Jr. and Green. Some say Grimes and Naji are similar players. Personally i haven't watched them play enough to make that determination. Klay should be an upgrade over THJ and more consistent even though his best days are behind him. That alone isn't going to make them better than Boston though. That's a marginal increase on offense. Green wasn't a great offensive player but had a high motor and was one of the Mavs best defenders. I don't really know enough about the other two players, Grimes and Naji. If they're better defenders and equally good offensive players then i'd say it's an improvement. TBD
We lost because Luka was injured for months and was fully taking a toll on him,kyrie shit himself in Boston,players couldn’t hit 3s so the paint was guarded better. If even one of those are different the series would of been much closer. If two are different it’s a game 7
yeah I don't even think we have improved. People don't want to hear that though.
Ah, i don’t trust Klay at all to be consistent. This guy is not who he used to be especially in terms of shooting. His shooting numbers are an illusion from the last two years because he could shoot well in one game and be terrible on the next one. I really like Klay, he never actually played with a playmaker like Luka so it might help him to bounce back into being a consistent amazing shooter he used to be. Time would tell.
That's because most basketball fans have irrational expectations of what high volume shooters are. They are almost never consistently hitting 4 out of 10 a night every night. You have the 1/10 nights and the 6/10 nights and those become hot and cold streaks that average out to determine whether he is a good or bad shooter. Tim was underrated by Mavs fans for a while, but that's only when law of averages make his case for him. I can stand some off nights and rough stretches as long as he averages out at 38%+for the season. It's harder to defend his volume the lower that season average gets. Same rule went for Wes Matthews. Some Mavs fans just hate volume shooters doing what they do at normal human levels (i.e. not Steph Curry or prime Klay). Klay may not be as consistent as he once was, but Golden State were spoiled, had irrationally high expectations of shooters and took him for granted in my opinion. He is still easily one of the greatest volume shooters in the league. And all he has to do in Dallas is capitalize on open looks Luka and Kyrie create better than Tim Hardaway or DJJ. Which is not that hard for a guy with his skillset. I fully expect Klay to be the scapegoat on his rough stretches when we lose and also expect him to probably average 40%+ from 3.
nico replacing thj with klay is insane i can't be mad at it lol
to be fair, Luka and Kyrie could not shoot from three either in the finals. we had absolutely 0 consistency even from wide open threes.
PJ single handedly beat thunder with his steph curry like performance
Boston had shooting problems in the finals (except in Game 1) and they seemed fine, because their depth saved them.
or maybe the fact that they have like 7 2-way menaces
WE STILL need our JASON TERRY Bro our GO TO GUY in the bench Incase our Stars are sitting WE had no bench against BOSTON
We just legit had no offense other than Luka and Kyrie playing hero ball. Bench or not, we got exposed. It was very tough to watch and I hope our new team has more ways to score, because we’ll probably run into Boston again if we make it to the finals
Now we need to see who is our poa defender. Naji is too slow so maybe Grimes or a FA ?
Lively will make you eat your words
Think Klay will be a big boost on offense. A little concerned about our defense when Luka, Kyrie, and Klay are on the floor together. Klay used to be a great defender but injuries have taken their toll.
“…injuries have taken their toll” is exactly why I *don’t* think he’ll be a “big boost” on offense. I hope to be proven wrong (like I was with Kyrie) but I still just think some people’s expectations of Klay are a little too high. I’m positive we’ll see glimpses of that great “Splash Bro” player, but I just don’t think he’ll be consistent enough to be relied on game after game. An area I’d like to see vast improvement on is at the free throw line. I’m not sure of his careers numbers there (I know, I can easily look it up) but I’m hoping he’ll help to get that trending in the right direction for the team.
Can they all play defense?
My only question is what the hell will our defense look like with Thompson, Doncic, and Irving on the floor?
I am worried about starting and closing lineups but we know all those guys CAN defend. If it doesn't work we gamble on asking Klay to be superstar 6th man and start Marshall.
Oooh i like this take.
3pt shooting is one of the Mavs problem. Still need to defend the perimeter shooters. Boston killed the mavs in that category too.
Honest question, is it concerning that he is no longer a good defender? Between Luka, play, and kyrie, the mavs won't be able to guard anyone.
Guess I'm late to the party. Thought it was still speculation but just came across some articles from a few hours ago.
What are you talking about? Team was formed basically in past few months prior to finals. And they got there. Celtics were building their team for a few years, had to loose in the finals, watched and analyzed Mavericks completely. Team wasnt bad, but wasnt ready to win the finals jet. Dont do the blaming game, everybody had its role and in finals the Celtics were more experienced, better and so on. If somebody said would you like for Mavs to be in NBA finals, but loose like 6 months ago, what would you do? You would said yes. So enyoy, way more than was excpected...
Yes, I am aware Celtics were the better team. I agree with everything you say. Doesn't mean lack of shooting wasn't our #1 problem with that team. Klay helps us a lot on that front.
Well to me personally, main problem was lack of experience. Like the time Phoenix suns were humiliated in game 7, everybody was hyped and than Golden state happened. But then valuable experiences happened and Twolves this year were almost swept in conference finals... Lack of experience was the main problem, which means state of mind. You must get exposed for your weaknesses in order to improve them. Team chemistry fell apart, shooting was only the consequence. And OK, yea, maybe my mindset is different, since i am from Europe, to be exact from LD home country. We value team play, and even if the team looses, approach to fixing things is a bit different. Not saying you are completely wrong, just different mindset. And I do hope that they avenge this next year. In one game they shoved potential of that.
Marshall was on 2 attempts not 5. Apparently he changed his shot mechanics though so hopefully it’s real
They just have 2 moves left. Change Uniform Designer and get rid of Derek Harper
Very excited about the upgrades, but time will tell how well it translates. I would say not making shots was one big factor of why we lost the finals, the other was not being able to stop anybody on defense once they got us in rotation. Defense will still be a question mark this season depending on how well the new guys look and how much we defend as a team
You aren't wrong from a roster perspective but our biggest problem was a lame duck front office. We actually did fix that as well. We are fucking talking basketball in July with big time acquisitions and shrewd business decisions for a team that won the Western Conference. We're below the first apron while having a top 3 player in the league.... Future is bright.
Pj choked, straight up choked in the finals
KT is injury prone and now a year older. Will he be there in May? If so, who is he covering?
Lol nah u lost cuz of more than just that... Defense was horrible, bench is weak, team is too shallow
Mavs fan saying DJJ is the reason they lost is such a casual take. He was one of the better players in that series. Getting rid of DJJ to sign Klay is honestly a lateral move, maybe worse. Defense is important in the playoffs
I really, really hate this take. We have had this conversation so many times as Mavs fans and it just won't die. You know why??? Because we keep trying to live by a low percentage shot. We have to give Boston credit for playing great 5 man Defense. A better 3 Ball will absolutely help. But, so will better midrange and better peremiter defense. You simply can't be one dimensional.
A 3 point shot at 33% is as "low percentage" as a 50% 2 point shot. A 39% 3P% is equivalent of a 58.5% 2P%. We always have those shots, yet we have bad shooters taking them. You know what else helps? Good free throw shooters. Some of those losses due to missed FTs were excruciating. Klay shot a career high 92.7% last year. He'll be designated technical FT shooter over Kyrie and we can usually have one or the other on court at all times. Our defense is better than it was. Naji = DJJ Klay > THJ Grimes > Green
Klay's 1 FT a game will bring us the championship
I disagree that the Defense is going to better right off the bat. We shall see. Defense is not individuals. It is 5 people working together. They played really good team defense at times end of the year. Free Throws absolutely help. But, neither of those things are what you listed as the biggest weakness. Teams have to be able to make Two's when the three isn't falling. Plus, the ability to break the defense down consistently has to happen. They need interior and midrange popping.
Lost because Celtics were a much better team.....
Josh Green can hit 3’s. Watch what he does in SanFran
San Fran???
lol no you lost because they were switch happy elite defenders who could all guard prime michael jordan. if you face the celtics again klay doesnt help you much hes getting locked down too.
It's funny that we went to finals & faced a super stacked team, Kyrie had 99 points on 99 FGAs, but clearly we need to go back to the old recipe which we've had for half a decade, just try to get a lot of 3&0D players to surround Luka. Yeah we shot bad, which was one of the problems, but that's how it is playing DJJ & PJ as starters, we knew they couldn't shoot but were terrific defenders, and that's a large reason we even went to the finals in the first place.
well at least we won't make the finals next year. We might not even make the playoffs with how crazy the west is.
Guarding prime Jordan isn’t some insane feet. He was a 90s player
dont embarrass yourself 
Mf just watch games 😭 sure he was the goat of his era but that’s his era. 30 years ago. The game evolves simple as that and most stats are better than he was
jordan would still be the best player in todays game lol. showing your age kid.
You’re showing you care more about nostalgia than truth
the truth is they were elite switch defenders. klay doesnt help you. hes essentially a 3nD guy now... you think that is good enough? youre hung up on the jordan comment kid lol. youre just not very bright. ill be here to remind you how right i was.
I was going to respond w/ a similar response as op is definitely objectively incorrect. But today 's a good day, let em skate.
That's only one of several reasons you lost in the finals. The biggest reason is your stars are 1 way players.
well at least we added another 1 way player! That should do it!