Alright, hoop heads, buckle up! This one’s got drama, star power, and a whole lot of ball talk. Let’s dive in!
Klay’s Big Move to Dallas
So, Klay Thompson leaving the Warriors after 13 seasons and four rings? Yeah, that was a shocker. But guess what? It wasn’t just about the money or the change of scenery. Word on the street is that Kyrie Irving played a massive role in bringing Klay to Dallas. Mavericks’ coach Jason Kidd spilled the beans during an interview with NBC Sports Bay Areaโs Dubs Talk. He said, โWhen it comes to recruitment, a lot of people were part of the process. But one of the biggest factors was Kai [Irving]. Kai was able to connect with Klay, player to player, and share his experience of what itโs been like in Dallas over the past two years. He gave Klay an honest assessment of what he thinks could happen with him on board.โ
Kidd’s Humble Pie
Now, Kidd isn’t taking all the credit here. He admitted, โIโd love to say it was all me, but it wasnโt. It was a team effort. But in this league, player-to-player recruitment is huge. This was all about Kai and Klay being able to have that conversation.โ Gotta respect the honesty, right?
Mark Cuban’s Master Plan
And then there’s Mark Cuban, always ready with a soundbite. Heโs pumped about Klay joining the squad and has some interesting plans for him. Cuban said, โObviously, the big addition for us was Klay. Heโs someone you have to guard closely because heโs going to knock down 40% of his shots. At Golden State, he was always running around and coming off screens.โ But hereโs the kicker: Cuban wants to simplify things for Klay. โThatโs not really our style. Weโll run some plays like that for him, but mostly, heโll be positioned in the corners or on the wings, catching and shooting from Luka [Donฤiฤ] and Kyrie [Irving]. Hopefully, it makes his life a lot easier,โ he added. I think this could be a game-changer for Klay. Less running, more gunning!
Klay Thompson with his new teammate Dereck Lively IIโฆ
Steph had some jokes!
Aces-Liberty | ESPN
โ NBA (@NBA)
Kyrie’s Finals Frustration
Switching gears, letโs talk about Kyrie. The dude opened up recently on Twitch about how bummed he was after the Mavs’ Finals loss to the Celtics. He said, โLast year was definitely disappointing from the standpoint of not winning the Finals as a team and coming up short. We got there for a reason, but blood is definitely in the water.โ Man, you can feel the frustration.
And who can blame him? Kyrie had a rough series, especially from beyond the arc. In the first two games, he missed all eight of his three-point attempts and shot just 35.1% from the field. Compare that to his earlier playoff rounds where he was nailing 42.1% of his threes. Ouch.
But hey, Kyrieโs owning up to it. โIโm always going to take accountability, and it starts with me,โ he said. โI didnโt play my best down the stretch, and thatโs been eating me aliveโin a healthy way. Iโve stayed motivated, and weโre gonna be back. We just need to have fun and take it day by day. But losing fโ sucks.โ Preach, Kyrie.
So, what do you think? Will Klay thrive in Dallas, or will it be another chapter of “what ifs”? And can Kyrie bounce back from that tough Finals performance? Drop your thoughts below!
