Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd shared the details behind the team’s recruitment of Klay Thompson this summer, emphasizing the importance of Kyrie Irving in making the deal happen.
“When you talk about the recruitment, it was a lot of people that were involved in that. But one of the biggest players in that was Kai. Kai being able to, player to player, (detail) his experience of what Dallas has been like for him in two years and being able to tell Klay the honest truth of what he thinks can happen with Klay coming to Dallas.”
“I would love to say it was all me, but it wasn’t. It was a team effort. But I think player-to-player – in this league, they all talk about their situations, and they all recruit one another – this was about Kai and Klay being able to talk.”
“And I also believe Klay did his homework, just understanding the situation. It would have been easy for him to stay (with the Warriors or elsewhere in California). So, he had to put in some effort of doing some homework to see what Dallas was all about.”
Irving’s attempts at recruiting Klay to the Mavericks had been made public before Klay had signed with the team. The Lakers and LeBron James heavily pursued Klay, so Irving had to recruit the Warriors swingman by showing him how badly the Mavs wanted. They entered the NBA in 2011 as part of the same Draft Class and were rivals for years, so there’s competitive respect between them.
Irving also went through a series of troubles on and off the court before his move to the Mavericks, where he’s been able to redeem himself by dominating on the court. He averaged 25.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.2 assists last season as the Mavs made only their third NBA Finals appearance.
Jason Kidd Explains How Klay Thompson Fits On The Mavs
Kidd didn’t just break down Kyrie’s recruitment plot for Klay but looked ahead to the NBA season and Klay’s fit on the roster. The Mavs head coach seemed excited to have a shooter of Klay’s caliber next to Luka Doncic while harping about Klay’s experience as a leader on a championship team being what the team needs after losing in the Finals last season.
“We truly believe that he gives us something that we haven’t had, a guy who’s not afraid to take the shot. He’s been in championship situations. He understands what it means. We believe that we’re building a championship team. And his being a veteran, his experience being in big games and then being able to play both ends, we truly believe that he’s going to make a lot of open shots for us and have fun. But, also, we’re going to lean on him because has won a championship. We’re going to need his advice and his leadership throughout this journey.”
Klay averaged 17.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists on 38.7% shooting from three last season.
The Mavericks also added Naji Marshall and Quentin Grimes to the team this offseason, with the franchise hoping to keep pace with a rapidly improving West. Dallas will want the NBA Finals to be back in the city in 2025, with the team pushing to make the same happen.
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