Mavericks fans could be in for a rude awakening with Warriors legend Klay Thompson

After 13 years with the Golden State Warriors, Klay Thompson's arrival at the Dallas Mavericks is set to be one of the NBA's biggest storylines entering the 2024-25 season.

Much has been made of Thompson's rather unceremonious departure from the Warriors, but now it's time to actually see how the move will impact both franchises. That's a source of fierce debate, with the potential that it could actually be a win for Golden State, Dallas and of course Thompson individually.

Dallas Mavericks fans are in for a rude awakening if they believe former Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson will improve their defense

The 5x All-Star's shooting is set to provide a major boost to an already potent Mavericks offense, so long as Thompson is willing to accept a more supplementary role behind Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. It's not necessarily the offense that should cause concern for Dallas fans -- even in a down year last season Thompson averaged 17.9 points on 38.7% three-point shooting.

The defense is a different story. In a recent article for The Smoking Cuban, Jake Ferraro looked at six traits Thompson brings that the Mavericks have desperately missed. Within the article Ferraro claimed that the 34-year-old "will make the Mavs a better defensive team," citing his previous All-Defensive Second Team honors and even Defensive Player of the Year votes.

The issue is those came in 2018 and 2019, both prior to Thompson's pair of devastating leg injuries. Since then he's understandably been a shell of his former self on that end, and therefore any expectation that he'll boost the Mavericks defense is misguided, particularly when he'll be taking the starting role vacated by Derrick Jones Jr. -- a noted wing defender -- from last season.

Thompson had a defensive rating of 117 and 118 over the past two seasons. Prior to that, the highest defensive rating of his career was 112. In the three seasons since injury, the veteran sharpshooter has recorded 1.2, 1.9 and 1.7 defensive win shares. Before the injuries, he recorded five-straight seasons of at least 2.6 defensive win shares. Thompson has had a defensive field-goal percentage of 47.6% and 45.6% in the past two seasons, while before the injuries the highest DFG percentage of his career was 44.1%.

All the numbers (and the eye test) suggest Thompson is a far inferior defender to his once elite level. Again, that's through no fault of his own, it's the reality of having to deal with the setbacks he went through.

So if Mavericks fans think the Warriors legend is going to be a positive on the defensive side of the ball, they're in for a rude awakening once the season gets underway. Thompson could be great for the franchise in various other elements -- including being part of a top 3-5 offense in the league -- but he's highly unlikely to strengthen their defense.