10 Reasons the Dallas Mavericks aced the 2024 offseason

9. Dallas added the perfect star to pair alongside Doncic and Irving

The Boston Celtics were able to expose the Dallas Mavericks in last year’s NBA Finals through their dynamism on the offensive end as well as their ability to switch one through five on the defensive end, but the Mavericks did their due diligence this summer in ensuring that Boston won’t have near as easy of a time knocking the Mavericks off should they face off against each other in the Finals again.

The Mavericks did this by adding one of the best shooters of all time this past offseason in Klay Thompson, as the 34-year-old wing projects to add an effective blend of spacing and shot creation to this Mavericks’ offense, which is something that Dallas desperately lacked against Boston in the Finals with how stout Boston’s point-of-attack defense was. 

Thompson is the perfect third star to pair alongside Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, as the Mavericks truly lacked tertiary shot creation and knockdown shooting as they got deeper into the playoffs, oftentimes relying too heavily upon Doncic and Irving to delegate their offensive workload.

With Thompson serving as a new release valve in the Mavericks’ offense, even elite defensive teams will be a lot more reluctant to double-team Irving and Doncic, as there’s simply too much offensive firepower to account for on Dallas’ side when the three of those players share the floor.

Thompson may be slowly declining defensively and isn’t as dynamic with the ball in his hands as he once was, but he’s still a near All-Star level player at this stage in his career, and he’s uber-motivated to prove the doubters wrong with the Mavericks.

While Thompson wasn’t the best player on the board in free agency, he’s likely the best fit out of any of the stars that Dallas could’ve hoped for, especially since his contract was a solid bargain at three years and $50 million.