The Dallas Mavericks may have made an offseason mistake by signing Klay Thompson over a former champion they kicked tires on.
Over the past three weeks of the regular season, there may not be a team playing better than the Dallas Mavericks. During that stretch, the Mavs have won 11 of 12 games and have made a beeline up the Western Conference standings. They're currently tied for second (in the loss column) and are within shouting distance of the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. But even as the team as a whole has begun to play better, Klay Thompson, the team's prized offseason pick-up, continues to struggle.
Klay hasn't been necessarily a bad player so far this season but he also hasn't lived up to the hype of being such a big offseason signing. On the year, he's averaging 13 points on 39 percent shooting from the field and 36 percent shooting from 3-point range. With how inconsistent he's been this season, you can't help but wonder if the Mavs may have made a mistake by going all-in on Klay - especially after the reporting that the team did explore the option of acquiring Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as well.
The struggles of Klay Thompson
In the end, the team went with Klay but it very well may have been a mistake. Klay is 34 years old and KCP is 31. Even though KCP is certainly going through his own shooting struggles this season, he brings much more versatility on the defensive end than Klay does at this point in their respective careers. And with how talented the Mavs are on the offensive end of the floor, there's a chance that could end up being more valuable in the long run than anything Klay can bring on the offensive end of the floor in inconsistent spurts. If you did expect one of them to turn their concerning start to the season around, it very well may be KCP over Klay.
Of course, if Klay can figure out a way to shake off this rough start to the season, all will be forgotten. Klay can have an underwhelming regular season but if he comes through for the Mavs in a big way in the postseason, that's all that matters. Klay was signed by the Mavs for the playoffs and not the regular season. It's only at that point that we can truly judge the move for Klay. Even though the early signs are not great, it's still too premature to make any conclusions on this move either way.
The verdict is still out on this move as a whole but it wouldn't be surprising if there was a little bit of second-guessing at this point. Especially considering that at 34 years old, this could just be the start of a decline in Klay's game. If this is the best version of Klay the Mavs are going to get over the next three seasons, it's going to be increasingly hard to remember this move in a positive light.