NBA Rumors: Mavericks front runners to land an in-demand sharpshooter

The Dallas Mavericks' quest to get back to the NBA Finals began when they traded for Quentin Grimes and offloaded Tim Hardaway Jr. following the draft, giving them another rotation player to rely on. Now comes a report from NBA insider Marc Stein that the Mavericks are hoping to land Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson amid his contract dispute with his longtime team.

With the Warriors seemingly setting a line in the sand as far as a contract offer, Thompson will have to choose from a handful of landing spots, potentially also including the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic. However, the Mavericks might be the more attractive destination since he wouldn't have to move cross country and would be playing on a team that just went to the NBA Finals led by stars in Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

Can the Dallas Mavericks land Klay Thompson from the Golden State Warriors?

Still, acquiring him might be hard for them to pull off without the Warriors' help. That would mean a sign and trade, likely involving Maxi Kleber and Josh Green in a deal for Thompson. While Thompson doesn't necessarily fill an immediate need for the Mavs, the hope is that he can thrive playing along with two elite offensive players. Him drilling a high rate of his threes could help boost an already impressive offense and make them that much harder to stop.

A possible sign and trade could be made harder by Golden State possibly pursuing Paul George from the Clippers. Their trying to negotiate a sign and trade might keep them from considering one for Thompson. If they succeed in adding George, then it might hurt the Mavericks' chances of prying Thompson away from Golden State.

All in all, the Mavericks interest in Thompson makes sense, as does his apparent interest in them given his lack of progress on a new contract. Nevertheless, it might be hard for Dallas to add a multi-time all-star without the Warriors help.