Mavericks almost missed their shot at Klay Thompson due to another trade attempt

The Dallas Mavericks' move of the offseason was signing Klay Thompson to a three-year, $50 million deal near the brink of free agency, and he has carved himself a nice role with the team. Dallas acquired him through a sign-and-trade with the Golden State Warriors that saw the Mavs send Josh Green to the Charlotte Hornets, and Thompson is making himself right at home in Dallas.

Through six games, Thompson is averaging 14.5 points and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 37 percent from downtown. Thompson started off the year hot, and although he has cooled down some, he remains crucial to Dallas' success.

His elite shooting gives Dallas something they haven't ever had in the Luka Doncic era, and he gives Doncic and Kyrie Irving someone who they can rely upon to be the third scorer when needed.

While Thompson has had a great start to his first season in Dallas and has already become a fan favorite, the Mavs were close to not landing him at all.

Mavericks tried to land Caldwell-Pope before turning to Thompson

According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, the Mavs offered the Denver Nuggets a sign-and-trade for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope that was centered around Tim Hardaway Jr. or Josh Green over the offseason, but the Nuggets ultimately turned the deal down. This offer reportedly happened before the Mavs made the sign-and-trade for Thompson, and after the Nuggets declined the Mavs' offer, they "moved on to Klay Thompson."

Thompson has been a dream fit in Dallas through seven games, and although it had been reported that the Mavs had interest in Caldwell-Pope, it was unknown that it was this serious until now. From Shelburne's report, it sounded like the Mavs prioritized getting their hands on Caldwell-Pope, and Thompson was their backup option.

Caldwell-Pope was excellent in his role with the Nuggets, but it looks like the Mavs got the much better option of the two through the early parts of this season. Caldwell-Pope is averaging 6.0 points per game while shooting 21.9 percent from downtown, and he isn't fitting in Orlando just yet. Mavs fans saw that firsthand on Sunday night as he only finished with seven points in the game against Dallas, and Mavs fans should be glad that Denver turned down Dallas' offer.

Both players need time to fully get acclimated to their roles on their new teams, but it may have been a disaster if Dallas chose Caldwell-Pope over Thompson. Thompson has already become a fan favorite in Dallas after only a few games, and trading his impact for the impact of what Caldwell-Pope has made this year would have put the Mavs in a bad spot.

We'll never truly know how Caldwell-Pope would have fit on this Mavs team, but signing him over Thompson could have ended up being a decision that the front office regrets for a long time. Dallas already ranks 21st in points per game with 110.3, and having Caldwell-Pope instead of Thompson would have made their offense and shooting even worse.

There are always reports after the offseason ends about deals that almost come to fruition, and the Mavs truly dodged a bullet by signing Thompson instead of Caldwell-Pope. Dallas making a sign-and-trade for Caldwell-Pope would have put them completely out of the Thompson sweepstakes, and Nico Harrison's decision to sign Thompson looks better by the day.