After the Dallas Mavericks made the inevitable move to buy out Klay Thompson's contract, his next move seemed pretty obvious. He signed with the Miami Heat and joined Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. It didn't take long for his longtime former teammate to voice an opinion.
On Draymond Green's podcast, he defended Thompson by trying to calm down the NBA media on Thompson's next move. He's not the player he used to be, and while fans know that, the media seems to be all in on this being a blockbluster. At the same time, Green compared Thompson's Heat signing to another veteran of the past.
"I wish sports media would speak on it more, like when Ray Allen went to Miami. Don’t try to set my brother up like you're getting the 2018 version so when you don’t, you can bash him. That’s bullsh*t. He’s going into year 16. Yes, he’s going to provide shooting…. Let’s look at him like Ray going to Miami, back when sports media was a good thing.”
Draymond Green compares Klay Thompson's move to Ray Allen's Heat tenure
Klay Thompson and Draymond Green won four NBA championships with the Golden State Warriors, and Thompson left to join the Mavericks, where his role was supposed to be the easiest. Get the ball and shoot. The Luka Doncic effect was enough to bring Thompson over, but after two seasons, he's now with Miami for more shooting depth.
Green is doing his best to defend his friend and old teammate, but he also assured Mavs fans that the franchise made the right move here. The Mavs are clearly moving in a younger direction, and this move was truly a win-win for both sides.
Over his two seasons with Dallas, Thompson averaged 14 points and 11.7 points per game. In those two seasons, he shot 39 percent and 38 percent from deep. Not bad considering much of that was without Doncic. There are plenty of similarities too when it comes to comparing Thompson and Ray Allen.
Thompson, at 36, is an established NBA champion, with a seasoned roster now around him. At 37, Allen found Miami, where he became a key bench piece next to LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. He also hit one of the most clutch shots in NBA Finals history in Game 6. Allen didn't average as many points, but Thompson actually has a chance to start.
Assuming Andrew Wiggins plays the three, and Tim Hardaway Jr. plays the sixth-man role, Thompson will be in the starting lineup. One key difference is that Miami's bench still has questions, and they're still not considered a title contender, even with arguably the best frontcourt in the East.
It was inevitable that Thompson would leave the Mavs, but he doesn't fit the Mavs timeline. President Masai Ujiri made it clear that they are moving forward with Cooper Flagg as their captain, and Thompson doesn't fit the timeline.
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