Klay Thompson’s dad already getting on Mavericks fans’ bad side
By Will Miller
![Klay Thompson Klay Thompson](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2527,h_1421,x_0,y_127/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/GettyImages/mmsport/83/01j1vhqs8xk86nkpcezm.jpg)
The Dallas Mavericks are in prime position to come back even stronger than last year after coming off of an NBA Finals appearance, as Dallas had had a stellar offseason so far with the additions of Quentin Grimes, Naji Marshall, and Klay Thompson.
Mavericks’ President of Basketball Operations Nico Harrison has masterfully maneuvered this offseason period, as Harrison was able to make all of those additions while still potentially leaving $4.4 million of Dallas’ non-taxpayer MLE available for use on another prospective free agent (depending on bonuses), as the Mavericks still have another roster spot open and are under the first apron.
It’s without doubt that the Mavericks project as a championship contender after signing the biggest name in Dallas’ free agency history with Thompson, but there will inevitably be doubters in the national media despite how talented this Mavericks roster is. Many fans and analysts think Dallas wasted money on a player in Thompson whose shooting and defense are depreciating to horrendous levels, despite Thompson’s shooting dipping only marginally since coming off of a torn ACL in 2019, as Thompson still posted really solid shooting splits of 43.2/38.7/92.7 last season on relatively high volume.
Mychal Thompson wanted Klay to sign with the Lakers over the Mavericks
While many think Thompson can’t contribute at a high level on this Mavericks team just because he may not be as hyper-efficient as he used to be from a defensive and shooting perspective, many are doubting Thompson even made the right choice in free agency, one of which people being Thompson’s father Mychal Thompson.
Thompson’s father vehemently voiced that he would rather his son have signed with the Los Angeles Lakers and finished out his career there when he was interviewed recently by SiriusXM NBA Radio, something that isn’t surprising when you take into consideration that Thompson’s father played and won two championships with the Lakers during the late 1980s.
"I'm not feeling too much in a congratulatory mood."
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 2, 2024
Mychal Thompson had hopes that his son, Klay Thompson, would join the Lakers.@champagnennuts | @TheFrankIsola | @Scalabrine pic.twitter.com/8TH9bV3Ktw
To be fair, Thompson’s father was very practical in his assessment of Thompson’s free agency in the rest of the interview, insinuating that Thompson is old enough to make his own decisions without his father’s intervention and that he would be supportive no matter what.
However, it’s clear that Thompson’s father was overall disappointed from the standpoint that Thompson didn’t follow in his father’s footsteps by joining the Lakers, so Mavericks fans should keep their ears peeled in the future to see if Thompson’s father continues to express discontentment with Thompson being in Dallas, as we hopefully don’t have another Tim Hardaway Jr.-Tim Hardaway Sr. situation on our hands.
For more on Klay Thompson and the Dallas Mavericks throughout this free agency, stay tuned as we will have you covered.
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