Kyrie Irving’s Role In Stealing Klay Thompson From Warriors

The Dallas Mavericks pulled off a coup this past offseason when they stole one of the foundational pieces of the Golden State Warriors’ dynasty, Klay Thompson, away from the Bay Area.

Thanks in no small part to the growing rift between Thompson and Stephen Curry, as well as Draymond Green, the opportunity presented itself to provide Thompson with an attractive change of scenery.

Ultimately, Kyrie Irving exploited the situation and ensured that his squad, which is fresh off an NBA Finals bid, would be able to capitalize.

This week Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd explained how Irving played a huge role in stealing Thompson away from the Warriors.

“When you talk about the recruitment, it was a lot of people that were involved in that,” Kidd said.

“But one of the biggest players in that was Ky. Ky being able to, player to player, (detail) his experience of what Dallas has been like for him in two years and being able to tell Klay the honest truth of what he thinks can happen with Klay coming to Dallas.

“I would love to say it was all me, but it wasn’t. It was a team effort. But I think player-to-player – in this league, they all talk about their situations, and they all recruit one another – this was about Kai and Klay being able to talk,” Kidd continued.

“And I also believe Klay did his homework, just understanding the situation. It would have been easy for him to stay (with the Warriors or elsewhere in California). So, he had to put in some effort of doing some homework to see what Dallas was all about.”

Thompson obviously isn’t the player he once was, but he can still be deeply impactful.

Will Thompson ultimately prove to be the veteran presence that Dallas needs in order to finally get over the hump and win Luka Doncic his first NBA championship? Time will tell.

Anthony Amador

A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school Games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.