Mavericks’ Nico Harrison Suggests Klay Thompson Was the Missing Piece During the NBA Finals

During the 2024 Finals, the Boston Celtics stifled the Dallas Mavericks’ long-range shooting, which was a huge factor in their 4-1 series win. While the Celts converted 14 triples per game on 33.8% shooting from the floor, the Mavs made just 9.6 threes a game. They lacked a reliable off-the-ball shooter throughout the series. Now that the Mavericks have signed one of the greatest three-point shooters ever, Klay Thompson to a three-year, $50 million deal, Mavericks’ President of Basketball Operations, Nico Harrison believes that the puzzle is finally solved.

Thompson was the missing piece to the Mavs’ championship puzzle, Harrison said during a recent appearance on Sirius XM radio. After analyzing their 2024 Finals loss, the Dallas front office purposefully went for the trade.

During Harrison’s appearance, host Eddie Johnson touched upon Thompson’s comments about Mavericks being the perfect place to begin his new chapter. He also reflected upon the four-time NBA Champion’s experience as a clutch scorer in high-pressure playoff situations, which will take the load off of the Mavs’ duo of Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic.

Nico Harrison said in response, “Absolutely and after we went through the finals you know, we saw what we were missing, who we need. And obviously he saw the same thing, so I think it is a great fit.”

“We saw what we were missing”#Mavericks president of basketball operations Nico Harrison on what went into bringing in Klay Thompson in his conversation with @TermineRadio and @tomcrean at #NBA2KSummerLeague.#MFFL pic.twitter.com/2iL1z0vzBl

— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 14, 2024

Harrison also pointed out that the happy and appreciative atmosphere that the Dallas camp has created will help to bring out the best from Klay.

Therefore, there is a mutual willingness to be with each other from both Thompson and the Mavs management. It makes sense considering the Mavericks’ stellar three-guard combination. 

Mavs to unleash a Three-Guard lineup?

During his introductory press conference for the Mavericks, Thompson showcased his excitement about joining the elite guard combo of Irving and Doncic. He opined that he’d be even more lethal alongside those top-notch scorers.

With the Warriors, Stephen Curry was the only major defensive magnet after Kevin Durant’s departure. Now he will play alongside two players who can score from virtually every part of the floor.

With his primary defender worried about Irving and Doncic at every turn, Thompson will generate a ton of wide-open looks from deep. While touching on this aspect, Thompson expressed,

“I don’t think you can stick to me as much as you could do in the past with guys like Luka and Kyrie out there. That was attractive to me.”

Thus, the Mavericks will most likely be rolling a three-guard starting lineup. Thompson has shown the ability to guard elite Wings. But in his mid-30s, he might have trouble keeping up with them.

However, offensively, he will be a nightmare as an off-the-catch shooter alongside two superb ball-handling scorers.