When Klay Thompson departed the Golden State Warriors to join the Dallas Mavericks in free agency, it seemed like his career with the franchise was over for good. Yet could the Warriors be desperate enough to bring him back?
Thompson has continued to decline in his first two seasons with Dallas which is consistent with the end of his tenure with the Warriors. However, he has shown some signs of life as of late and the Warriors may be desperate for some sort of spark on offensively.
Warriors may be desperate enough to entertain Klay Thompson reunion
With the Mavericks in a state of flux after firing general manager Nico Harrison, it would not be surprising if they traded away some of their pricier players like Thompson or Anthony Davis. If the Mavericks did decide to trade Thompson, the Warriors could potentially be a logical landing spot.
Golden State has cycled through the shooting guard position this season. They have tried out Brandin Podziemski and rookie Will Richard, but neither has had the consistency necessary to really hold onto that starting role and run with it.
Head coach Steve Kerr has spoken about the team's need to improve and play more cohesively on offense, and maybe adding Thompson could help in that effort.
To be clear, Thompson has struggled this season. His field goal percentage is a career-low 37.4% and he is shooting 35.4% from three-point range which is another career-low. This is not the same Thompson who put up 37 points in one quarter ten years ago, but maybe he'd benefit from playing on the same team as Stephen Curry once again.
However, his shooting has improved as of late and his defense is much better than it has been in recent seasons. Thompson has help opponents to a 36.4% shooting percentage which is the third-best mark in the league. He seems to be showing signs of recapturing the old defensive form that he brought to the table when he was at his peak with Golden State.
Both Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler have been candid about the fact that the team's defense needs to improve. Younger players like Podziemski may be making too many mistakes and are not carrying their weight on defense, which is why a change may have to be made at some point.
Bringing back Thompson would also be incredibly nostalgic and would be fitting in a way as the Warriors try to make the most of the end of Curry's career. The team won all four of its championships in the past decade with Thompson on the roster, so maybe he could be a good luck charm for them as they look for their fifth title in the Curry era.
The Warriors have to be smart and should not give up too much if they were to trade for Thompson. They should really only make a play for him if Dallas is clearly having a fire sale and simply wants to move on from his contract for next to nothing in return.
If that's the case, then maybe the Warriors can swoop in and add Klay, perhaps more so as a bench piece to at the very least give them a boost if their middling play continues over the coming months.