Fresh off their trip to the NBA Finals last season and a strong off-season, it appeared as though the Dallas Mavericks were going to be one of the teams to beat in the Western Conference. Then injuries and the Luka Doncic trade got in the way, leaving Klay Thompson in a tough spot.
Thompson was traded to the Mavericks from the Golden State Warriors to play with Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Now, Doncic is gone. Anthony Davis, the star he was traded for, may miss the rest of the regular season with an injury, and Irving will too after tearing his ACL.
Without any of those players, the Mavericks could quickly fall out of the playoff race altogether. That would mean that Thompson maybe left to ride out this season playing on a lottery team. Not just that, but it raises questions about his future in Dallas.
In fact, his father, former NBA player Mychal Thompson, recently weighed in on the situation on ESPN Los Angeles and had this to say:
Mychal Thompson (@champagnennuts) spoke on his son Klay’s experience in Dallas since the Luka trade. pic.twitter.com/qxdt7vM8KR
— ESPN Los Angeles (@ESPNLosAngeles) March 6, 2025
Remember, the Mavericks spent most of their assets to build around Doncic only to trade him less than a year after he carried them to the NBA Finals. You can't make that up. Meanwhile, Irving tearing his ACL this month could mean that he may not play another game for the Mavericks until early 2026, with the average recovery time for an athlete being between nine and 12 months.
Should the Dallas Mavericks consider trading Klay Thompson this summer?
Dallas will no doubt be much worse next season with them having to rely on Davis and Thompson to start. Even when Irving returns, it is questionable whether he can play anywhere near the level he was at prior to his injury.
After all, he will be almost 34 years old by the time he returns, and while players tend to come back in 9 months, they often take much longer to return to their previous level of play if they ever do. That could mean that Dallas won't make the playoffs, possibly for a second straight season, and would have an aging core that they would need to eventually replace.
Another option would be that they make the tough decision to bottom out by trading Davis and even Thompson this summer in the hopes of getting the best possible return. That would be all the more embarrassing considering that Davis would have played just one game with the Mavericks and Thompson would have made the playoffs had they not traded Doncic midseason.
Nevertheless, that may be their best move with Irving facing a long path to recovery, Davis being 31 and due for an age-related decline, and Thompson already in the last phase of his career. Therefore, the Mavericks should look to trade Thompson this summer after failing to deliver on their promise when they signed him.