Mavericks fully vindicated for Klay Thompson move as young wing flops elsewhere

While there's potential the Dallas Mavericks elect to ship off Klay Thompson ahead of the February 5 trade deadline, there's little doubt Dallas lost their initial sign-and-trade of Thompson back in the summer of 2024. The only big loss Dallas dealt with from the six-team sign-and-trade was having to give up Josh Green to the Charlotte Hornets, but the Mavericks should feel vindicated for this now, as the 25-year-old Green is playing a fringe role for the Hornets this season.

Green didn't start his season in Charlotte until December 12, as he was recovering from left shoulder surgery from the offseason. While that definitely contributed to it being harder for him to get re-integrated into the Hornets' rotation this season, his role has diminished significantly compared to last season.

Green started every game but one last season for the Hornets, but he's averaging just 15.9 minutes per game throughout 21 contests this season so far. He's still been a decent 3-and-D piece, but he's not exhibiting the same level of efficiency as a driver nor being as productive as a playmaker compared to when he was in Dallas.

Green's shrinking role proves Mavs fully won Thompson sign-and-trade

For the season, Green is averaging 4.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per game with 43.4/40.4/66.7 shooting splits, and it's clear he's struggling to fit into a Hornets rotation that already has a ton of guards and wings. By no means is Green on the fringes of getting bounced from the league yet, but he definitely needs to seize limited opportunities or hope for an eventual trade from Charlotte, as he's buried on a team that has a surplus of younger, talented guards and wings.

It wasn't all too long ago Green had 15 points on 5-8 shooting from the field in a losing effort for Dallas in Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals versus the Boston Celtics, so the potential Green showed in Dallas wasn't a fluke, but the Mavericks have been proven right for parting ways with Green considering his lack of development in Charlotte.

Despite a slow start to the season, Thompson is playing as well as he has since donning a Mavericks uniform recently. The Mavericks could probably recoup some decent value for Thompson if they trade him ahead of the deadline, but the same probably couldn't be said if Green were still on the roster in place of Thompson and was playing at the same level he is for Charlotte right now.

Ultimately, it's hard to say whether Green was as promising as he was offensively in Dallas due to playing alongside other dynamic shot creators such as Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, or if he simply played better in a Mavericks uniform. Many Mavericks fans appreciate Green for his contributions over four seasons with the team, but if he doesn't develop any further, the Mavericks made the right move to use his contract as part of the Thompson sign-and-trade.