After a season in which Luka Doncic was traded and Kyrie Irving suffered a devastating ACL injury, you could understand if Klay Thompson had some regret in his decision to leave the Golden State Warriors for the Dallas Mavericks.
Yet in a remarkably shocking result that may only be matched by the Doncic trade, any Thompson regret has likely vanished with the Mavericks winning the NBA Draft Lottery and the rights to future star Cooper Flagg.
The future of Klay Thompson and the Mavericks have been turned on its head
After finishing 10th in the Western Conference with a 39-43 record, the Mavericks had just a 1.8% chance of landing the number one pick heading into Monday's Draft Lottery. Yet that sensationally came to fruition, with Dallas becoming the lowest odds team to win the lottery since changes were made in 2019.
Suddenly the pain of the Doncic trade is far less palpable, with Flagg set to give the Mavericks the sort of franchise cornerstone they just willingly traded away. In the short-term, Flagg is seen as a prospect that can help winning right away, which will be crucial in trying to buy some time before Irving returns from his knee injury.
Thompson, of course, is set to be a big part of that as well. Yet now the reliance on him without Irving won't be as high, potentially allowing him to sit back into a catch-and-shoot role that was initially destined when he signed on a three-year, $50 million contract last offseason.
We saw towards the end of this season that Thompson is no longer capable of being the primary option on a good team, and fair enough too given his age and injury history. The 5x All-Star averaged 14 points -- the least since his rookie year -- and shot a career-low 41.2% from the floor this season as neither he nor the Mavericks reached the heights they envisioned.
But in the space of a few minutes, Thompson would be feeling far better about his free agency decision last season, having left the only team he's ever known while also turning down a deal from the Los Angeles Lakers.
It's a stunning change in fortune for Thompson and the Mavericks, and particularly for General Manager Nico Harrison who has experienced so much backlash from fans for the Doncic trade.
It's not great news for the Warriors who've just seen a conference rival gain a massive asset, while another in the San Antonio Spurs will also benefit significantly from gaining the second pick at the Draft Lottery.