Mavericks are setting Warriors legend up for failure with wild statement

If there's anyone that understands what Klay Thompson will bring to the Dallas Mavericks, it's Golden State Warriors fans who rid the ups and downs of his legendary career with the franchise over 13 years.

Following a turbulent final season with the Warriors in 2022-23, the veteran sharpshooter departed for the Dallas Mavericks in a six-team sign-and-trade that also netted his former team Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield.

Jason Kidd's latest statement will raise eyebrows among Warriors fans

Thompson is now free to pursue greener pastures and reinvent himself elsewhere, rather than trying to chase the former glory he produced as one of the league's best two-guards prior to a pair of devastating leg injuries.

However, that former glory may not be so "former" according to some within the Dallas organization. Prior to Monday's game against the L.A Clippers at the new Intuit Dome, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd stated "yeah, he's still a superstar" in reference to the former Warrior guard (per ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk).

Regardless of what Kidd may have seen from Thompson throughout training camp, anyone who's consistently seen him play over the last two seasons would know that the 34-year-is far from what he once was.

That's not Thompson's fault, but just the reality of two of the worst leg injuries any athlete could possibly suffer. The fact he's been able to return and have the impact he has, including helping the Warriors to the 2022 championship, is nothing short of remarkable.

But labelling Thompson a superstar is a little irresponsible -- it's suggesting that he can return to being an All-Star level player, something that hasn't been the case for over five years. Can the 4x champion be an impactful piece to a Dallas team coming off a Finals appearance? Absolutely. But superstar player he won't be, even if it's a general term that's definition varies depending on who you ask.

Unfortunately for Kidd, his comment was only made worse by a rough night for Thompson against the Clippers. After a 10-point, 3-of-9 shooting performance against the Utah Jazz in his preseason debut on Thursday, the 5x All-Star went scoreless in just over 21 minutes on Monday which included missing all nine of his field-goal attempts and all six of his three-point attempts.

Granted, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving were both missing for the Mavericks, with Thompson expected to get better looks once the star duo return. As for Thompson himself remaining a superstar, Kidd is setting him up for failure if he has to live up to that label this season.