Kyrie Irving's media day complement also brings huge expectation on Warriors legend

The Golden State Warriors undertook media day on Monday with one notable absence -- Klay Thompson. It was the first time in 13 years that the 5x All-Star wasn't in the Bay, with his former teammates expectedly fielding questions on the void he's set to leave the franchise.

Meanwhile in Dallas, Thompson was rocking his new team's jersey and speaking of the excitement of play alongside Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and a Mavericks squad that just reached the NBA Finals. It was undoubtedly another major step in making sense of Thompson's departure for many Warrior fans, leaving his debut with the Mavericks as perhaps the last hurdle in this strange but understandable transition.

Kyrie Irving offered a huge complement to former Warriors guard Klay Thompson, but also one that sets huge expectations

Thompson's unfolding story in Dallas will be a fascinating watch for both Maverick and Warrior fans alike. Right now there's only projections on which way it will go, yet there's no doubt on what Thompson brings to the franchise in the mind of Irving.

Once notable rivals in the NBA Finals, Irving delivered a glowing complement of Thompson in stating, "I feel like our dreams can be possible because he's here now."

It's hard to give higher praise on a new teammate's possible impact than that, but it also ramps up the expectation on Thompson to be the missing piece in Dallas' hopes of going one step further this season.

While everything is rosy and hunky dory at present, things will change quickly if Thompson can't deliver on what the Mavericks are envisaging for the Warriors legend. Many believe the 34-year-old will be an excellent fit as one of the league's greatest ever shooters playing alongside the creating ability of Irving and Doncic.

But at the same time there are also concerns about whether Thompson will be happy simply in a spot-up role, with the 4x champion conceding himself that “I know I’ll obviously have to adjust to Luka."

There's also concerns on how the Doncic, Irving, Thompson trio will fair defensively, perhaps leaving significant responsibility on exciting young center Dereck Lively II to pick up the slack with his shot-blocking and disruptive nature at the rim.

Irving also revealed that it was easy to convince Thompson to head to Dallas. While the 8x All-Star clearly referred to that in regard to the positives of the Mavericks organization, it may also give an indication of just how keen Thompson was to seek a fresh start away from the Warriors.