The Dallas Mavericks got significantly better by adding Klay Thompson. They struggled to knock down shots from beyond the arc in the NBA Finals, so they went and found one of the greatest shooters to ever walk the face of the Earth.
Getting him on a three-year, $50 million deal was a fair value, given what he could bring to the table. Nonetheless, that’s not how Ben Maller feels.
Talking on FOX Sports Radio, he unleashed against the Mavericks and Thompson, claiming that he was ‘cooked and done’ and that the Mavs overpaid for someone who didn’t have anything left in the tank.
He pointed out that injuries decimated his game, and while he can still shoot, he only had two dunks last season and can’t get to the rim anymore. Granted, Thompson could drive every now and then, but that was never his game on offense.
Thompson trailed only Donte DiVincenzo for the most threes in the league after the All-Star break, and he did so on 42% shooting from three-point territory.
He might never be the defender he once was, and that would’ve been a big plus for Jason Kidd’s team. But they don’t need him to be a 20-points-per-game scorer anymore, either. The salary cap keeps rising, and $50 million over three years is nothing in NBA money nowadays.
They needed someone to kick the ball to and knock down shots, and contrary to what some people want to make it seem, few players in the history of the game have been as good as Klay Thompson at shooting the basketball.