On this episode of 'Inside The Mavs' Kevin Gray of the Mavs Radio Network is joined by @NickAngstadt of @LockedOnMavericks to break down the blockbuster trade for Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks. KG and Nick break down the details of the trade and if the Mavericks are the favorite in the Western Conference after their acquisition of Klay Thompson and what it means for the Mavericks going forward and much more!
Support the show: This episode is brought to you by Aura. Aura: Stop data brokers from exposing your personal information. Go to my sponsor at https://aura.com/kevingray to get a 14-day free trial and see how much of yours is being sold.
Subscribe to @InsideTheMavs on YouTube for more Mavericks content and subscribe to Grant's channel @GrantAfseth on YouTube for more Mavericks coverage as well!
Be sure to subscribe to Kevin's YouTube channel @KevinGraySports and follow him on Twitter @KevinGraySports
Download and subscribe to the 'Inside The Mavs' Podcast, the official Mavericks podcast of 97.1 The Eagle wherever you get podcasts free, give it a five-star rating and write a review for the podcast.
Inside The Mavs Podcast:
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/inside-the-mavs/id1687581495
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3lH97deoTre1memqcpISRe?si=16ed964f523e4b17
Support the show: This episode is brought to you by Aura. Aura: Stop data brokers from exposing your personal information. Go to my sponsor at https://aura.com/kevingray to get a 14-day free trial and see how much of yours is being sold.
Subscribe to @InsideTheMavs on YouTube for more Mavericks content and subscribe to Grant's channel @GrantAfseth on YouTube for more Mavericks coverage as well!
Be sure to subscribe to Kevin's YouTube channel @KevinGraySports and follow him on Twitter @KevinGraySports
Download and subscribe to the 'Inside The Mavs' Podcast, the official Mavericks podcast of 97.1 The Eagle wherever you get podcasts free, give it a five-star rating and write a review for the podcast.
Inside The Mavs Podcast:
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/inside-the-mavs/id1687581495
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3lH97deoTre1memqcpISRe?si=16ed964f523e4b17
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Clay Thompson is on his way tothe Dallas Mavericks. I'm told a three
year, fifty million dollar deal that'llinclude a player option. It's a sign
and trade with the Warriors with Charlotteand Clay. Thompson's thirteen year career in
Golden State four Championships is now over. Killer Clay is coming to the Dallas
(00:23):
Mavericks. The how, the whatand whatever else? How we figured this
out with Nick Ainstad of Lockdown MAZjoining me here on this episode of Inside
the mass Let's go. Welcome toInside the MAVs presented by or. I'm
(01:06):
your host Kevin Gray, Mavericks Rampost game host of the Dallas Mavericks Radio
Network. Appreciate you joining us herefor the latest episode of Inside the MAVs.
Makes you a download, Subscribe tothe podcast wherever you get your podcasts
or free. Give it a fivestar rating, ride a review for it.
While you're there, you're watching onmy YouTube channel It's Kevin Gray Sports.
Makes you like a comment on thevideo. Subscribe to the channel as
well, and you can follow meon Twitter at Kevin Gray Sports. Joining
(01:29):
me on the show today. Youcan find him on Twitter or X or
whatever the hell we call it thesedays. At Nick van Exits, the
host of the Locked On Mavericks podcast, the president of the Raccoon Squad,
your best friend covering the Dallas Mavericks. My good friend Nick Angstad joining me
(01:49):
here on inside the mass. Nick'sgoing on. We might be the splash
pros, but you a splash,go the splash god. That's what That's
what Clay called durk Nooviitsky. Andthat's right, Clay Thompson coming to the
Mavericks. Now Killer Clay come intothe Dallas Maveris. I have to keep
saying it over and over again becauseI'm thinking, as we have gone over
the last couple of days, thinking, Okay, this is a possibility.
(02:13):
It's been out there. There's tractionto this, but man, the Mavericks
have never really beaten out the Lakersfor anyone of significance. And now lebron
Jays made a twenty million dollar betwith the Lakers and they lost. And
now Lake Thompson is coming to theDallas Mavericks three years, fifty million dollars.
The trade still has it been madeofficial by both teams yet, As
(02:37):
the Warriors are trying to use whateverlast piece of leverage that they have to
extract as much value as they canout of this deal. But the way
that it structured, Nick is basedoff of the fact that the Wars will
acquire a trade exception plus a secondround pick from the Charlotte Hornets. Josh
Green is going to be headed toCharlotte to join former Dallas Maverick Grant Williams
(02:58):
in Charlotte, North Carolina with theHornets. But before we get to any
more of the particulars, you're justinitial reaction when the Wolis bomb came through
that Klay Thompson, yes, isin fact headed to the Dallas Mavericks.
It kind of resigned that he wasgoing to go to the Lakers. I
mean, the longer it felt like, the longer he took to make the
decision, the longer that it wasjust gonna just gonna be the Lakers.
(03:21):
And maybe that's just the thinking inthe past of MAVs free agencies of the
past and feeling the hurt of someof those I talked to my show today
about remember us all sitting around Ifelt like a campfire. But sitting around
listening to Danny Green's podcast over andover again, and then he went to
the Lakers instead of the Maps.This is a very similar situation to what
(03:42):
just happened, but this time theMAVs got the guy instead of the Lakers,
and I think that's notable. AnthonyIrwin is reporting that the Klay Thompson
got offered eighty million for four yearsfrom the Lakers, so he turned down
thirty million dollars. He turned downLebron recruiting him face to face and over
FaceTime. He turned down Los Angeles, where he's from. His dad is
a beloved figure there, played thereas a beloved TV broadcaster there, still
(04:08):
works there, and all that hisdad was openly like recruiting him on social
media, recruiting on social media hopingthat he would be there, and uh
yeah, I mean he was aLakers fan growing up too, so like
all of that was going against theMavericks at this point. And being Los
Angeles, we also have been toldthat nobody wants to play with Luka Doncic
(04:29):
and that Kyrie is tough to playwith, and apparently that didn't work because
Kyrie had to catch on that nowthat Kyrie had the connection with anti shoes
and all that Clay is part ofAnton's shoes as well, So yeah,
all that goes against them, Andto me, I think that it was
just surprising to me that it happened, because that stuff just doesn't happen in
the Mavericks very often. I thinkI saw Jeff Cooper seen say this is
the best free agent signing they've everhad as a franchise, and I was
(04:51):
like, well, first of all, it's a trade. So that's hilarious
because their best draft picks of alltime, Dirk Luca Lively were also trades,
their best draft picks or trades,and now their best free agent signing
is also a trade sort of.But but yeah, so that significantly Kyrie
the best free agent signing that they'veever had. Then that what that actually
(05:11):
they've re signed him? I guess, so does they re sign him?
He was a free agent after youknow whatever, They're all here in Dallas.
That's all that matters. That's allthat matters is all here in Dowas.
Look, I think you started tohit on it because all the things
that were in the Lakers favor naturally, you would think, because I thought
we were gonna get Jaylen Brunston again, where you know, Jalen technically,
you know, went home, wentto go play with dad in New York.
(05:33):
He's from the East Coast. He'sgoing to be out there. He's
out there with his family and allof that, have a chance to be
with his own team, you know, all the things that come with Jyalen
Brunston being in New York. AndI thought, okay, maybe we're going
down that same road again. Becausethe Lakers, he were like, we
did have a meeting with you,Like, what are you talking about.
(05:54):
We didn't have that on my calendarexactly. But the idea was, Okay,
Clay is going to get get thispitch from the Lakers, and they're
gonna pull out the power point lookat you and your daddy with the baby
and diapers and Lakers jerseys and allthis other stuff. And Clay was like,
you know what, you know right, I'm gonna come home. But
then we find out, as youmentioned, the Lakers offered them eighty million
dollars and he actually's like, well, you know what, there's no state
(06:15):
income tax in Texas, so I'mgonna get a majority of my money when
I go to Dallas. So thanks, but no thanks to California and your
your taxes out there. I'll goahead and go to you know, Texas
and the Midwest and go and getme the money. But also the Mavericks
making the finals. Nick, thisdoes not happen, None of this conversation
happens unless the Mavericks make the NBAFinals. And you put yourself in these
(06:41):
in these discussions, and as NicoHarrison likes to talk about having a seat
at the table, your team nowfirmly has the attention of the league and
so much to a point where afour time NBA champion says, this team,
at this point in my career givesme the best chance to win one
for the thumb if you will,and I'm going to go try that with
Luca and Kyrie in Dallas. Dallasis going to get a seat at the
(07:04):
table. That's right, That's right. They did. And yeah, this
doesn't this conversation doesn't happen until unlessthe Mavericks make the finals. Like to
prove to teams, hey we arecontender. Clay looked at the two situations
and basically said, who's more ofa contender and he thought it was the
Mavericks. And you can you canjust look at the stars too. I
mean, Luca is twenty five andLebron James is going to be forty soon
(07:26):
and like that. That's a bigdifference there. So I think that that
he looked at that. But theconnection with Kyrie apparently was very good.
They played on TEAMOSA together. Wementioned the answer connection before, and so
that's a little bit different than thanAnthony Davis probably in that connection. And
then yeah, you have the proofof concept. Lakers are, you know,
figuring out a new coach and allthat kind of stuff with with with
JJ Redick and the MAVs have acoach that went to the NBA Finals now,
(07:48):
so we have we have to saythat, you know, like you
have to say that the NBA Finalscoaching coach and Jason Kidd. So there's
a lot of stuff going against theMavericks, but they got it done and
now have a Thompson and the numbersof the of the deal like got me
to turn around on it. Youasked me, like what my reaction was
to it is that when I initiallyheard about this, I thought it was
(08:09):
gonna have to be a four foreighty, like what the Lakers were offering.
I thought it was gonna have tobe a twenty million dollars per year
deal. I thought it was gonnahave to be uh, Josh Green and
Maxi plus some picks, like Ithought they were gonna have to shell out
to go get Klay Thompson. It'slike half of what I thought it was
gonna be, right because he's makingin the first year. If you know,
CBA MAVs had the estimate, he'sgonna make like about just under sixteen
(08:31):
million in the first year, andthat's eleven percent of the cap. Like
that is a great deal. It'sless than what Tim Hardaway was gonna make
this year coming up with a Mavericks. So he's making less than what Tim
Martwy was making the last couple ofyears, and it, you know,
continues to go down in percentage ofthe cap. And uh, and he's
better than Tim Hardaway, So likelike you get that upgrade right there.
Yeah, let's take a quick breakhere on inside the MAVs and hear from
(08:54):
today's sponsor of our video, nopodcast, Let's hear from Moura. Today's
video is brought to you by Aura. Do a Google search on your name
and email address to see how muchinformation comes up about you. I was
devastated by the amount of information thatI could be seen searching my name and
profile, and I knew then Ineeded to be protected for not just myself,
but also for my family. Databrokers sell your information to scammers,
(09:16):
spammers, and anyone else who maywant to target you. Your full name,
email, home address, health records, your relatives, it's all out
there. That's why I've been usingAura. The sponsor of today's video,
Or shows me which data brokers areselling my information, automatically submits opt out
requests for me. Cleaning up myinformation not only helps reduce the amount of
(09:37):
spam I get, but it protectsme from hackers who could use this information
to help them access my social mediaaccounts, bank accounts, and other sensitive
information. Or also does so muchmore to protect me and my family from
online threats that I can't see.It's really easy to set up, so
I don't have to download several differentapps to get things like anti virus,
VPN, password management, parental controls, identity theft, insurance, and more.
(10:01):
I get everything at one affordable price. You may already have one of
these tools already, but not havingAura is like locking the front door and
leaving the back door wide open,or is always on doing the hard work
to protect me and my family soI can focus on other tasks with peace
of mind. I value my privacyand I value yours. You can go
to Aura dot com slash Kevin Grayto start your two week free trial.
(10:24):
Please see the link in the descriptionback here on Inside the Maps. Thank
you to today's sponsor of our videoon our podcast and Ura with Nick Angstead
of Locked On MAVs joining me hereas Klay Thompson coming to the Dallas Mavericks
and Nick. One of my favoritethings about the reaction to this so far,
which has been for the most partuniversally loved by NBA analysts and scouts
(10:48):
and pundits to cover and talk aboutsports on a daily basis, But the
idea is seeing all the different playersthat Nico Harrison has turned into what he
has now, but also all thedifferent lineups that we've seen in the past
now compared to what the Mavericks aregoing to be running out when it comes
to Luca, Kyrie, Klay Thompson, Pug Washington, you know, and
(11:09):
Derek Live with the second versus whatyou may have had a couple of years
ago, whether it was Luca Donsons, Jalen Brunson, Christian Wood, insert
Spencer Demmy, whomever you want toinsert, Dory and Finni Smith, Like,
these are the lineups now compared towhat the Mavericks have. I think
that's been some of my favorite partof this. So let's talk about the
basketball part of this, because notonly do the Mavericks have Klay Thompson,
now they acquire Quinton Grimes as partof the Tim Hardaway trade, sending him
(11:33):
to Detroit. Shout out to TobiasHarris, the finesse King, with all
the millions upon millions of dollars threein his career, Kevin almost a third
of a billion dollars. He's nevergonna stiff an All Star Game. He
is. What'll we like to calla legend at the bank, is Tobias
Harris the finesse King when it comesto NBA contracts for sure. But now
(11:58):
you have Quentin Grimes. You alsosigned Naji Marshall to a three year,
twenty seven million dollar deal. You'relooking at the first eight guys of this
team, Luca, Kyrie, KlayThompson, PJ Washington, Derek Lively if
you want to have him in yourstarting five, and then your next three
we're talking about Daniel Gafford, DanteExHAM, and the last ones escape for
(12:22):
me already, Hardy Hardy. Yeah. Well, if he takes a leap,
yeah, we'll see what happens withhim in summerly. But really,
well, I guess it will either. I guess Naji Marshall will fit into
that eight now, So your firstthree off the bench could be Gafford,
Naji Marshall, ExHAM, however youwant to put their grimes will be a
(12:43):
part of that. But basically mypoint is you've got eight to nine guys
deep now for this team that youfeel good about based off of what you
acquired for this team, and Ithink that's going to bode well for them.
Given how stacked the West is,We've already seen teams like Oklahoma City
continue to improve, with Alice Carusoobviously adding Azia Hartenstein as well. You're
(13:05):
seeing some of these teams continue toapprove. I think the Mavericks were able
to respond in a way that keepsthem right there in the discussion as a
top four team in the West goinginto next season. Yeah, you gotta
look at this offseason and just lookat they literally have just gone three players
for three players. So you godown the road and you go, Okay,
Well, Derek Jones Junior to NajiMarshall, he's Naji Marshall is better
at things than Derek Jones Junior.Derek jou j is better at things than
(13:28):
Naji Marshall. So hopefully it's abetter fit for Naji Marshall. He's shown
an ability to hit the three pointshot that Derek Jones never showed before he
joined the Dallas Mavericks, and somaybe that's an opportunity where it's a lot
better. He's also much better withthe ball in his hands, much better
passer than Derek Jones junior is DerekJoon jingor probably a better point of attack
defender. Naji Marshall is thicker andcan guard, you know, guys,
and be stronger and stand in anddo all that kind of stuff, and
(13:52):
so like there's just a difference there. Maybe maybe it ends up being an
upgrade because of fit and all that. Josh Green to Quentin Grimes, I
think is an upgrade. I've beensaying the whole time. I think it's
an upgrade. I think his pointof attack defense is better than Josh Green's
and hopefully he takes a step forwardand uh then Tim Hardaway to Klay Thompson
and like that's an upgrade just inconsistency and experience and and all that kind
(14:13):
of stuff. The defense is gonnabe I mean, Clay, I'm not
expecting Clay to be an elite defender. He was all defense like what four
or five years ago. Now he'stoo like devastating injuries removed from that.
And he's gonna be thirty five inFebruary, and I know all that he's
going to be better defensively than TimHardaway Junior was. Yes, the bars,
the bar is not very high,you know, you know in the
Mario games, or you're jumping andyou get to the end and you have
(14:35):
to jump and hit the bar atthe end that like goes down. It's
the is at the bottom. Youdon't have to jump yet. Guy never
jump very hard to get So he'sgonna be better in that regard. And
I think also the respect that Clay'sgonna get on spacing on three point shots
is gonna be more than what TimHardaway got and so that just the spacing
(14:56):
it's gonna create, like you're gonnaleave Klay Thompson to go help on Luca
or Kyrie or Lively rolling or whoever, Like you're gonna do that. Really,
that's my favorite part about the offensiveit is is that with Luca and
Kyrie's ability to be able to penetrate, to be able to find open shooters,
Klay Thompson at this stage in hiscareer, while yes he is still
(15:16):
a movement shooter, it could stilldo some of those things. He's one
of the best catching shoot three pointthree point artists that we've ever seen in
the history of the league. Likelast year he made two hundred and nineteen
catch and shoot three pointers. Thatwas second in the NBA quarter to second
spectrum. Like, just think aboutthe amount of catching shoot looks he's going
to get now, two hundred andnineteen. How many maps made two hundred
(15:39):
and nineteen threes last year? Iwould probably guess just the one in Luca
Dages. Luca made two eighty four, Hardaway made two eleven, Kyrie made
one hundred and seventy three. Andthat's just total threes that not even just
catch and shooting three. Yeah,people forget this, And this is what
bothered me about the whole discussion aroundhim. Klay Thompson last year it was
(16:00):
fourth in the NBA and total threepointers made, he shot nearly thirty nine
percent for three. I know peoplewill look at the game and the play
in where he went oh of tenfrom the you know, from the field,
all this sudden stuff. I'm likethat, I know, but I'm
just that's what I'm saying, Like, this is a player that is still
one of the best three point shootersin the league, and now you put
him on a team that generates asmany, especially corner threes as they do,
(16:21):
and now you get to put himin this offense. It's a perfect
fit. And I couldn't, forthe life of me figure out why Dudes
like Jason tim forre like, youknow what, this is a bad fit,
you know, for Klay Thompson.I'm like, cope more, Cope
more, if you will, becausethis is the way that That's the way
it felt to me, is likecope, okay, because this is what
is a perfect basketball fit at thispoint for me. People just see the
(16:41):
maps offenses. Everybody stand around,but like, yes, takes better catching
shoot threes than Clay, like likehe, oh, you can't have both
things. Can't have Oclay as oldand he's not gonna be as good as
he was. And we don't wantClay to be trying to get his own
offense and trying to force these shotslike he did with the Warriors. That's
all I heard from Warriors fans andfor people to cover the Warriors like Clay
just forces it too much and takesthese bad jobs. Okay, let's put
(17:03):
him in a system where he doesn'tdo that, because you're not asking him
to do that as much. Standin the corner, do exactly what you
do. Come around screens every oncein a while, we'll run stuff for
you. They'll probably have to openthe playbook up a little bit more because
they can now with the guy likeKlay Thompson that they wouldn't do for Tim
Hardaway or somebody else in the past, but they'll do it for Clay.
And so yeah, do that kindof stuff and run around and catch it
and get get five wide open threes. Like just get get five wide open
(17:29):
threes. A game that Lucas gonnaspoonfeed to you that you wouldn't get with
the Warriors, right, like,and maybe maybe they did get some of
them with their system and they're runningand all that, but like it's going
to be He's going to help inthat regard. It may not be the
best for Clay himself, but it'sgoing to be good for the Mavericks.
I mean, if you just lookat the history of what guys have been
able to do playing alongside Luka Doncicand the career numbers that they've been able
(17:52):
to pull up. I mean,Derek Jones Junior to gets thirty million dollars
from the Clippers in part because hebecame a thirty four three point shooter and
a the offense that a lot ofthem have as many open threes that he
had. Like, this is theoffice that we're talking about here, and
now you put Klay Thompson in it, it kind of gets supercharged in that
way. So I'm excited to seehow quickly he will be able to gel
(18:12):
and mess with this team. Again. The big factor being for him this
stage in his career in terms ofhis health. If this is a guy
who look if he is going toremain healthy for the next two to three
years, this window remains wide openfor them, and it's not like his
shot is necessarily going to fall off. We don't think based on the way
that he has been able to shootthroughout the entirety of his career, he
(18:33):
slinging shot in NBA history is justgonna stop working. That's what I'm saying.
Yeah, Like, it's funny youbring that up because I told people
in the past, people you know, kind of looked at me kind of
funny. I was like, Yeah, if I had to pick a jump
shot of the two between Stephan Curryand lay Thompson, I would actually pick
lay Thompsons shot. I feel likehis jump shot is always ever said that,
Oh I did not know that.I had not heard that or saying
(18:55):
it, But yeah, I wouldpick lay Thompson's shot of the two if
I was picking like the prettier jumpshot of between Steph and Clay. But
again, Steph said, if stepsaid, if you're gonna teach like a
young kid to shoot, look atclay shot, not mine, Like,
yeah, that makes sense because hisjump shot is amazing, but that that
just shows you how amazing Stephan Curryis. The fact is broken yet,
(19:18):
But I'm the greatest three point shooterthat ever lived in the history you know
of the league. So the fitbasketball wise is great, which gets me
to the whole front office portion ofthis, because Nico Harrison has turned what
has been not a destination spot forNBA free agents and has turned it into
(19:41):
a place where players won't you comeand play? And we had talked about
it when he first got this jobthat one of his big, you know,
drawing points were his connections around theleague, his ability to have the
relationships that he's had working as anexecutive at Nike, and how that could
possibly translate itself into the job ofbeing GM. And he has done that
(20:02):
beautifully to where not only are therelationships connecting, but he has shown a
brilliant basketball mine in terms of whatthe Mavericks have needed to fit around the
kind of scheme as system that JasonKidd and this group have wanted, and
he has found the right players tobe able to do it. I mean,
it helps to have Luka Doncis youknow, at the top of all
this, but at the same time, you still have to find the right
(20:22):
players to fit around the guy tomake it work. And he's done that.
Fantastically so far. Yeah, thewhole Dallas is going to get a
seat at the table. Like thatwhole thing starts with him creating all these
relationships for so long, working forNighttown and being in these meetings and being
Kobe's guy. Like I was acouple of weeks ago, I was just
on TikTok. I was just scrollingand every once in a while, get
(20:44):
like an old NBA clip where'll belike, look at this, and it's
Kobe Bryant a Team USA practice forthe Olympics, and he's sitting on a
table and Anthony Davis, young AnthonyDavis, like the first time he played
Team USA. Anthony Davis like likeshort hair, like buzzed hair, Anthony
Davis with the unibrow, and he'sgot these sunglasses on and Kobe's like messing
with them. He's like, youdon't want to cover the unibrow with with
(21:06):
sunglasses And they're laughing back and forthand it's funny, and like right in
the middle is Nico Harrison just sittingthere looking back and forth at each of
them, like being like just therewith Anthony Davis when he was that young,
at that point, like that pointin his career. He's known these
guys for so long, and he'sbeen around and he's been in pitch meetings
with Steph Curry and with Kobe andwith all these guys, and so he
has these relationships. We see himall the time before games talking to in
(21:30):
Anthony Davis talking to some of theseplayers, are talking to a you know,
the other GM And he's just beenaround for so long that he knows
all these guys, has the relationships. That's why they've gotten a seat at
the table. And then you gotto give him credit for you know,
taking that those relationships and then,like you mentioned, building a team that
makes sense. We're just talking aboutbefore like before this, I just tweeted
(21:52):
the roster from twenty twenty two totwenty three, so two seasons, so
two seasons ago, so like thebeginning of the twenty twenty dud tess only
three season after the lost bruntson theroster was Luca Dinwittie, Dorian Phinney Smith,
Reggie Bulock, Christian Wood, TimHardvey, Junior, Josh Green,
Maxi Kleiba, JaVale McGee, Dwightpal Theopens and Davias Bretton's Faco composo,
(22:12):
Tyler Dorsey and somebody that I'm forgetting. None of those guys start on any
other team in the NBA, right, Like it's wild maybe Dorian starts on,
Maybe Dorian starts on a couple otherthan that, though they're not starting
on any other teams in the NBA. None. And to go from that
roster, which he had a partin setting up and did the Christian Wood,
(22:33):
Javal McGee deals and all that andtried that, but to go from
that to what the Mavericks have nowwith Kyrie and Clay and Derek Lively,
PJ Washington, Daniel Gafford, QuintonGrimes, Nachie Marshall, who are both
additions and a lot of people aroundthe league, like, you know,
to have o Max as a guythat could be up and coming, that
that's young, but if he ifhe discovers his potential this year, all
of a sudden, that's an incrediblead that you could add to this team.
(22:56):
And so like to go from thattwo years ago to now incredible and
to still have a couple of firstto work with and maybe the add one
more guy in free agency. They'vegot one more roster spot in some room
under the first apron, but nota lot. So it's been an incredible
thing to watch. Yeah, Igive this front office a lot of credit
because you look at it with NicoHarrison, Michael Finley, obviously with Andrew
(23:18):
Baker, like this entire front officehas done the creative work to put this
roster together. Again, it makesit a little bit easier with a starting
point to have arguably the best playerin the league, you know, on
your team and you made the NBAFinals, but it takes a lot of
work to be able to find theright chemistry to put this team together.
And with Daniel Gafford at PJ Washingtonbeing at it at the trade deadline,
(23:40):
one of the things that I thinkwent so underrated and underappreciated is the fact
that this team found a way tomake that kind of run on the fly
that they did and really remade theiridentity at the trade deadline, and they
were able to parlay that all theway to a finals run. That is
extremely difficult to do. And nowyou're going to give this group an entire
offseason in adding now the championship experienceof a Klay Thompson to this group.
(24:03):
Already with Kyrie Irving being there asa champion as well, and now Luca
having a chance to have experienced theNBA Finals. I am this is a
scary team based off of what theylearn in terms of their experience, but
now being able to marry that withanother player that provides them something that they
desperately needed during the playoffs and particularlyin the NBA Finals, which is someone
(24:25):
that could, damn it knock downa three pointer with some consistency. And
now they have arguably, well,I would say the second greatest three point
shooter that the history of the gamehas ever seen in that way, probably
yeah, and another scoring option,another guy that can do that. But
to the Nico Harrison point, like, just dude, he just has done
something at every turn, every freeagency, every draft, they didn't have
(24:48):
a pick. He got Jayden Hardy, you know, they didn't seem like
that. Any moves in front ofhim, he gets Najen Marshall gets you
know, Quentin Grimes makes that happenevery single turn. He's done something and
keeps moving this roster forward, keepmoved in to droster Ford, and he's
not been afraid to make huge moves. Christopher Parzingis trade was one of the
first huge moves he did where hetraded Porzingis, who was an All Star
and was a big part of thisteam for Dinwitty and a bad contract in
(25:11):
Davias Burton's and he took that riskand well, it didn't look like it
was gonna work out at first,and you're like, wait, why did
they just do that? They justdid it for financial flexibility and Dinwitty,
and then all of a sudden theygo to the Western Conference finals and you're
like, oh, okay, everythingworked out. He's fine, everything's good
now, everything's good now. Yeah, yeah, you just kept making it
work. And you give him creditfor taking big swings at it because he
(25:32):
continues he took the swings at itto make it happy. Well, yeah,
Kyrie. The leveraging that relationship andhim believing in him and trusting the
infrastructure that he and Jason Kidd hadbuilt to absorb Kyrie irving into it.
That was just another example of look, this can work here. And one
of the things as we get readyto end today is we heard reported that
Klay Thompson wanted to feel respective,he wanted to feel wanted during this process,
(25:55):
and that he wanted to be somewherethat felt like was going to give
him the chance not only to wina championship, but like he was part
of a quote unquote family at thisstage in his career. And the Mavericks
have been able to prove that overthe time that they've had Kyrie irving so
far to be able to feel likeClay could have that kind of confidence here.
It's just again speaks to the structurethat they've put in place here,
and that doesn't start unless you havesomeone like a Nico Harrison and yes a
(26:18):
Jason Kidd to be able to buildthat and then your superstars and Luke and
Kyrie believing in it so much thatit's become successful. And now Klay Thompson
wanted to be a part of thatin that way to finish it off.
I think the culture is going tobe good for Klay Thompson get out of
you know, he's been there forso long. Some of that wears on
you. You know, it's likelive with a sibling for too long,
(26:40):
or you know, have a roommatefor two thirteen years. There thirteen years
long time. It's a long timeto be hanging out with with Draymond Green.
We want to tell you. Imean, four titles gotta help some
some of that. But yeah,when you've seen him punch a teammate and
it's probably not the first one,you go wonder why I get the punch?
You know, one is what isthe punch coming for me at this
(27:02):
point? And so I think it'llbe refreshing to come over and not have
a huge personality like that, rightlike they had Grant Williams and he's gone.
They don't have a huge personality likethat, And I think that that
could be refreshing for Clay's. Itis a pretty chill team. They just
they get together. They uh,you know, they want to win basketball
games and there for each other andall that kind of stuff. And we
saw what Kyrie Irving, what happenedto Kyrie Irving when we went from Brooklyn
(27:26):
to Dallas and just got to chilland focus on basketball. And he was
like, Wow, this is thisis great. Like, it's great,
it's great, bro Ski pro nameit's it's great. It's great. It's
great. Bro, It's it's great. It's great. This likes great,
Bro. I have no complaints.I don't. That was Kyrie sarcastically when
he first joined the Mavericks on aTwitch stream, and now he's now he's
(27:49):
a lot more happy. I thinkyou were the professional Kyrie social media maven
at that point. I remember itwas amazing. I was like, Wow,
he's just gonna stream live and Iwas like, literally anything could happen
right now, and you were allover it, all over it, anything
like Kyrie's eating habits, Kyrie's likeNick was all over it during that initial
(28:11):
time. I wanted to know itall. I was like, what is
he gonna what is he gonna brought? You just be listening to music.
Sometimes sometimes he just why why helikes to here? Because you wanted to
get to know Kyrie the person.Look at you. Look at you set
an example for us. I meanI wanted to I did not know Kyrie
the person. I'd known Kyrie theactions. I had not seen ky I
did not know Kyrie the person,and you did all the investigative work to
(28:32):
help help us find that out bysitting and watching Twitch exactly. Nick,
tell the folks I can find youwhat you got going on man, lockdown
maps, YouTube podcast everywhere at Nickvan Exit on Instagram, TikTok Twitter.
Appreciate you Nick is your best friend. Covering the Dallas Mavericks. He does
a tremendous job. He's a madman. He hit me the other day say
hey. I was like, hey, you know, good job, you
(28:53):
know putting out that one podcast.They almost did three of them because Luca
played you know what teams will beagainst Bill. Maybe I'll do that to
the Oh this is my last.Kyrie draws Steve versus the Machines since she's
taking over. That's it. Theywant us to be purpose purpose, that's
right. Were there practice one day? Well a practice one day? It
(29:18):
was a map social media clip wherethey have they have like a screen on
the wall that tracks their their shotsduring practice. And so Kyrie was shooting
like ninety eight percent or something likethat, and he shows the wall and
it's Steve versus the Machines. Oh, Kyrie, imagine Clay with that tracker.
Oh my gosh, that's look watchingthree point practices with this team now,
(29:41):
it was going to be so muchfun. They don't have that bell
anymore. That was the Rick Carlislething right where they used to have like
this bell, like the dinner bellthat you would like ring like with the
rope that sticks out of it andDarryl Armstrong, a coach of the of
the Maps, they would do athree point shooting thing where they you take
you go around the world twice basicallyhow many shots that you hit and he
would ring it if they somebody gotwas perfect around the rim and they would
(30:06):
ring it all the time with client. Now. I bet yes, I'm
sure it would happen all the time. Nick, thank you so much for
joining me here on the show.Man. I really appreciate you. Man.
I'm need a recovered beer. Oome too, has been hot today
ane myself for sure. That'll doit for this episode of Inside the Massic.
Thank you to Nick gang set alockdown master joining me here on this
(30:26):
episode. Makesure a download and subscribeto the podcast wherever you get your podcast
for free, give it a fivestar rating, write a review for it
while you're there, makes you likea comment on the video and subscribe to
Kevin Gray Sports here on YouTube.You can follow me on Twitter as well
at the same at Kevin Gray Sports. Of course, I'm your mavers Spring
post game host on the Dallas MavericksRadio Network. This has been Inside the
Mask presented by Aura
Clay Thompson is on his way tothe Dallas Mavericks. I'm told a three
year, fifty million dollar deal that'llinclude a player option. It's a sign
and trade with the Warriors with Charlotteand Clay. Thompson's thirteen year career in
Golden State four Championships is now over. Killer Clay is coming to the Dallas
(00:23):
Mavericks. The how, the whatand whatever else? How we figured this
out with Nick Ainstad of Lockdown MAZjoining me here on this episode of Inside
the mass Let's go. Welcome toInside the MAVs presented by or. I'm
(01:06):
your host Kevin Gray, Mavericks Rampost game host of the Dallas Mavericks Radio
Network. Appreciate you joining us herefor the latest episode of Inside the MAVs.
Makes you a download, Subscribe tothe podcast wherever you get your podcasts
or free. Give it a fivestar rating, ride a review for it.
While you're there, you're watching onmy YouTube channel It's Kevin Gray Sports.
Makes you like a comment on thevideo. Subscribe to the channel as
well, and you can follow meon Twitter at Kevin Gray Sports. Joining
(01:29):
me on the show today. Youcan find him on Twitter or X or
whatever the hell we call it thesedays. At Nick van Exits, the
host of the Locked On Mavericks podcast, the president of the Raccoon Squad,
your best friend covering the Dallas Mavericks. My good friend Nick Angstad joining me
(01:49):
here on inside the mass. Nick'sgoing on. We might be the splash
pros, but you a splash,go the splash god. That's what That's
what Clay called durk Nooviitsky. Andthat's right, Clay Thompson coming to the
Mavericks. Now Killer Clay come intothe Dallas Maveris. I have to keep
saying it over and over again becauseI'm thinking, as we have gone over
the last couple of days, thinking, Okay, this is a possibility.
(02:13):
It's been out there. There's tractionto this, but man, the Mavericks
have never really beaten out the Lakersfor anyone of significance. And now lebron
Jays made a twenty million dollar betwith the Lakers and they lost. And
now Lake Thompson is coming to theDallas Mavericks three years, fifty million dollars.
The trade still has it been madeofficial by both teams yet, As
(02:37):
the Warriors are trying to use whateverlast piece of leverage that they have to
extract as much value as they canout of this deal. But the way
that it structured, Nick is basedoff of the fact that the Wars will
acquire a trade exception plus a secondround pick from the Charlotte Hornets. Josh
Green is going to be headed toCharlotte to join former Dallas Maverick Grant Williams
(02:58):
in Charlotte, North Carolina with theHornets. But before we get to any
more of the particulars, you're justinitial reaction when the Wolis bomb came through
that Klay Thompson, yes, isin fact headed to the Dallas Mavericks.
It kind of resigned that he wasgoing to go to the Lakers. I
mean, the longer it felt like, the longer he took to make the
decision, the longer that it wasjust gonna just gonna be the Lakers.
(03:21):
And maybe that's just the thinking inthe past of MAVs free agencies of the
past and feeling the hurt of someof those I talked to my show today
about remember us all sitting around Ifelt like a campfire. But sitting around
listening to Danny Green's podcast over andover again, and then he went to
the Lakers instead of the Maps.This is a very similar situation to what
(03:42):
just happened, but this time theMAVs got the guy instead of the Lakers,
and I think that's notable. AnthonyIrwin is reporting that the Klay Thompson
got offered eighty million for four yearsfrom the Lakers, so he turned down
thirty million dollars. He turned downLebron recruiting him face to face and over
FaceTime. He turned down Los Angeles, where he's from. His dad is
a beloved figure there, played thereas a beloved TV broadcaster there, still
(04:08):
works there, and all that hisdad was openly like recruiting him on social
media, recruiting on social media hopingthat he would be there, and uh
yeah, I mean he was aLakers fan growing up too, so like
all of that was going against theMavericks at this point. And being Los
Angeles, we also have been toldthat nobody wants to play with Luka Doncic
(04:29):
and that Kyrie is tough to playwith, and apparently that didn't work because
Kyrie had to catch on that nowthat Kyrie had the connection with anti shoes
and all that Clay is part ofAnton's shoes as well, So yeah,
all that goes against them, Andto me, I think that it was
just surprising to me that it happened, because that stuff just doesn't happen in
the Mavericks very often. I thinkI saw Jeff Cooper seen say this is
the best free agent signing they've everhad as a franchise, and I was
(04:51):
like, well, first of all, it's a trade. So that's hilarious
because their best draft picks of alltime, Dirk Luca Lively were also trades,
their best draft picks or trades,and now their best free agent signing
is also a trade sort of.But but yeah, so that significantly Kyrie
the best free agent signing that they'veever had. Then that what that actually
(05:11):
they've re signed him? I guess, so does they re sign him?
He was a free agent after youknow whatever, They're all here in Dallas.
That's all that matters. That's allthat matters is all here in Dowas.
Look, I think you started tohit on it because all the things
that were in the Lakers favor naturally, you would think, because I thought
we were gonna get Jaylen Brunston again, where you know, Jalen technically,
you know, went home, wentto go play with dad in New York.
(05:33):
He's from the East Coast. He'sgoing to be out there. He's
out there with his family and allof that, have a chance to be
with his own team, you know, all the things that come with Jyalen
Brunston being in New York. AndI thought, okay, maybe we're going
down that same road again. Becausethe Lakers, he were like, we
did have a meeting with you,Like, what are you talking about.
(05:54):
We didn't have that on my calendarexactly. But the idea was, Okay,
Clay is going to get get thispitch from the Lakers, and they're
gonna pull out the power point lookat you and your daddy with the baby
and diapers and Lakers jerseys and allthis other stuff. And Clay was like,
you know what, you know right, I'm gonna come home. But
then we find out, as youmentioned, the Lakers offered them eighty million
dollars and he actually's like, well, you know what, there's no state
(06:15):
income tax in Texas, so I'mgonna get a majority of my money when
I go to Dallas. So thanks, but no thanks to California and your
your taxes out there. I'll goahead and go to you know, Texas
and the Midwest and go and getme the money. But also the Mavericks
making the finals. Nick, thisdoes not happen, None of this conversation
happens unless the Mavericks make the NBAFinals. And you put yourself in these
(06:41):
in these discussions, and as NicoHarrison likes to talk about having a seat
at the table, your team nowfirmly has the attention of the league and
so much to a point where afour time NBA champion says, this team,
at this point in my career givesme the best chance to win one
for the thumb if you will,and I'm going to go try that with
Luca and Kyrie in Dallas. Dallasis going to get a seat at the
(07:04):
table. That's right, That's right. They did. And yeah, this
doesn't this conversation doesn't happen until unlessthe Mavericks make the finals. Like to
prove to teams, hey we arecontender. Clay looked at the two situations
and basically said, who's more ofa contender and he thought it was the
Mavericks. And you can you canjust look at the stars too. I
mean, Luca is twenty five andLebron James is going to be forty soon
(07:26):
and like that. That's a bigdifference there. So I think that that
he looked at that. But theconnection with Kyrie apparently was very good.
They played on TEAMOSA together. Wementioned the answer connection before, and so
that's a little bit different than thanAnthony Davis probably in that connection. And
then yeah, you have the proofof concept. Lakers are, you know,
figuring out a new coach and allthat kind of stuff with with with
JJ Redick and the MAVs have acoach that went to the NBA Finals now,
(07:48):
so we have we have to saythat, you know, like you
have to say that the NBA Finalscoaching coach and Jason Kidd. So there's
a lot of stuff going against theMavericks, but they got it done and
now have a Thompson and the numbersof the of the deal like got me
to turn around on it. Youasked me, like what my reaction was
to it is that when I initiallyheard about this, I thought it was
(08:09):
gonna have to be a four foreighty, like what the Lakers were offering.
I thought it was gonna have tobe a twenty million dollars per year
deal. I thought it was gonnahave to be uh, Josh Green and
Maxi plus some picks, like Ithought they were gonna have to shell out
to go get Klay Thompson. It'slike half of what I thought it was
gonna be, right because he's makingin the first year. If you know,
CBA MAVs had the estimate, he'sgonna make like about just under sixteen
(08:31):
million in the first year, andthat's eleven percent of the cap. Like
that is a great deal. It'sless than what Tim Hardaway was gonna make
this year coming up with a Mavericks. So he's making less than what Tim
Martwy was making the last couple ofyears, and it, you know,
continues to go down in percentage ofthe cap. And uh, and he's
better than Tim Hardaway, So likelike you get that upgrade right there.
Yeah, let's take a quick breakhere on inside the MAVs and hear from
(08:54):
today's sponsor of our video, nopodcast, Let's hear from Moura. Today's
video is brought to you by Aura. Do a Google search on your name
and email address to see how muchinformation comes up about you. I was
devastated by the amount of information thatI could be seen searching my name and
profile, and I knew then Ineeded to be protected for not just myself,
but also for my family. Databrokers sell your information to scammers,
(09:16):
spammers, and anyone else who maywant to target you. Your full name,
email, home address, health records, your relatives, it's all out
there. That's why I've been usingAura. The sponsor of today's video,
Or shows me which data brokers areselling my information, automatically submits opt out
requests for me. Cleaning up myinformation not only helps reduce the amount of
(09:37):
spam I get, but it protectsme from hackers who could use this information
to help them access my social mediaaccounts, bank accounts, and other sensitive
information. Or also does so muchmore to protect me and my family from
online threats that I can't see.It's really easy to set up, so
I don't have to download several differentapps to get things like anti virus,
VPN, password management, parental controls, identity theft, insurance, and more.
(10:01):
I get everything at one affordable price. You may already have one of
these tools already, but not havingAura is like locking the front door and
leaving the back door wide open,or is always on doing the hard work
to protect me and my family soI can focus on other tasks with peace
of mind. I value my privacyand I value yours. You can go
to Aura dot com slash Kevin Grayto start your two week free trial.
(10:24):
Please see the link in the descriptionback here on Inside the Maps. Thank
you to today's sponsor of our videoon our podcast and Ura with Nick Angstead
of Locked On MAVs joining me hereas Klay Thompson coming to the Dallas Mavericks
and Nick. One of my favoritethings about the reaction to this so far,
which has been for the most partuniversally loved by NBA analysts and scouts
(10:48):
and pundits to cover and talk aboutsports on a daily basis, But the
idea is seeing all the different playersthat Nico Harrison has turned into what he
has now, but also all thedifferent lineups that we've seen in the past
now compared to what the Mavericks aregoing to be running out when it comes
to Luca, Kyrie, Klay Thompson, Pug Washington, you know, and
(11:09):
Derek Live with the second versus whatyou may have had a couple of years
ago, whether it was Luca Donsons, Jalen Brunson, Christian Wood, insert
Spencer Demmy, whomever you want toinsert, Dory and Finni Smith, Like,
these are the lineups now compared towhat the Mavericks have. I think
that's been some of my favorite partof this. So let's talk about the
basketball part of this, because notonly do the Mavericks have Klay Thompson,
now they acquire Quinton Grimes as partof the Tim Hardaway trade, sending him
(11:33):
to Detroit. Shout out to TobiasHarris, the finesse King, with all
the millions upon millions of dollars threein his career, Kevin almost a third
of a billion dollars. He's nevergonna stiff an All Star Game. He
is. What'll we like to calla legend at the bank, is Tobias
Harris the finesse King when it comesto NBA contracts for sure. But now
(11:58):
you have Quentin Grimes. You alsosigned Naji Marshall to a three year,
twenty seven million dollar deal. You'relooking at the first eight guys of this
team, Luca, Kyrie, KlayThompson, PJ Washington, Derek Lively if
you want to have him in yourstarting five, and then your next three
we're talking about Daniel Gafford, DanteExHAM, and the last ones escape for
(12:22):
me already, Hardy Hardy. Yeah. Well, if he takes a leap,
yeah, we'll see what happens withhim in summerly. But really,
well, I guess it will either. I guess Naji Marshall will fit into
that eight now, So your firstthree off the bench could be Gafford,
Naji Marshall, ExHAM, however youwant to put their grimes will be a
(12:43):
part of that. But basically mypoint is you've got eight to nine guys
deep now for this team that youfeel good about based off of what you
acquired for this team, and Ithink that's going to bode well for them.
Given how stacked the West is,We've already seen teams like Oklahoma City
continue to improve, with Alice Carusoobviously adding Azia Hartenstein as well. You're
(13:05):
seeing some of these teams continue toapprove. I think the Mavericks were able
to respond in a way that keepsthem right there in the discussion as a
top four team in the West goinginto next season. Yeah, you gotta
look at this offseason and just lookat they literally have just gone three players
for three players. So you godown the road and you go, Okay,
Well, Derek Jones Junior to NajiMarshall, he's Naji Marshall is better
at things than Derek Jones Junior.Derek jou j is better at things than
(13:28):
Naji Marshall. So hopefully it's abetter fit for Naji Marshall. He's shown
an ability to hit the three pointshot that Derek Jones never showed before he
joined the Dallas Mavericks, and somaybe that's an opportunity where it's a lot
better. He's also much better withthe ball in his hands, much better
passer than Derek Jones junior is DerekJoon jingor probably a better point of attack
defender. Naji Marshall is thicker andcan guard, you know, guys,
and be stronger and stand in anddo all that kind of stuff, and
(13:52):
so like there's just a difference there. Maybe maybe it ends up being an
upgrade because of fit and all that. Josh Green to Quentin Grimes, I
think is an upgrade. I've beensaying the whole time. I think it's
an upgrade. I think his pointof attack defense is better than Josh Green's
and hopefully he takes a step forwardand uh then Tim Hardaway to Klay Thompson
and like that's an upgrade just inconsistency and experience and and all that kind
(14:13):
of stuff. The defense is gonnabe I mean, Clay, I'm not
expecting Clay to be an elite defender. He was all defense like what four
or five years ago. Now he'stoo like devastating injuries removed from that.
And he's gonna be thirty five inFebruary, and I know all that he's
going to be better defensively than TimHardaway Junior was. Yes, the bars,
the bar is not very high,you know, you know in the
Mario games, or you're jumping andyou get to the end and you have
(14:35):
to jump and hit the bar atthe end that like goes down. It's
the is at the bottom. Youdon't have to jump yet. Guy never
jump very hard to get So he'sgonna be better in that regard. And
I think also the respect that Clay'sgonna get on spacing on three point shots
is gonna be more than what TimHardaway got and so that just the spacing
(14:56):
it's gonna create, like you're gonnaleave Klay Thompson to go help on Luca
or Kyrie or Lively rolling or whoever, Like you're gonna do that. Really,
that's my favorite part about the offensiveit is is that with Luca and
Kyrie's ability to be able to penetrate, to be able to find open shooters,
Klay Thompson at this stage in hiscareer, while yes he is still
(15:16):
a movement shooter, it could stilldo some of those things. He's one
of the best catching shoot three pointthree point artists that we've ever seen in
the history of the league. Likelast year he made two hundred and nineteen
catch and shoot three pointers. Thatwas second in the NBA quarter to second
spectrum. Like, just think aboutthe amount of catching shoot looks he's going
to get now, two hundred andnineteen. How many maps made two hundred
(15:39):
and nineteen threes last year? Iwould probably guess just the one in Luca
Dages. Luca made two eighty four, Hardaway made two eleven, Kyrie made
one hundred and seventy three. Andthat's just total threes that not even just
catch and shooting three. Yeah,people forget this, And this is what
bothered me about the whole discussion aroundhim. Klay Thompson last year it was
(16:00):
fourth in the NBA and total threepointers made, he shot nearly thirty nine
percent for three. I know peoplewill look at the game and the play
in where he went oh of tenfrom the you know, from the field,
all this sudden stuff. I'm likethat, I know, but I'm
just that's what I'm saying, Like, this is a player that is still
one of the best three point shootersin the league, and now you put
him on a team that generates asmany, especially corner threes as they do,
(16:21):
and now you get to put himin this offense. It's a perfect
fit. And I couldn't, forthe life of me figure out why Dudes
like Jason tim forre like, youknow what, this is a bad fit,
you know, for Klay Thompson.I'm like, cope more, Cope
more, if you will, becausethis is the way that That's the way
it felt to me, is likecope, okay, because this is what
is a perfect basketball fit at thispoint for me. People just see the
(16:41):
maps offenses. Everybody stand around,but like, yes, takes better catching
shoot threes than Clay, like likehe, oh, you can't have both
things. Can't have Oclay as oldand he's not gonna be as good as
he was. And we don't wantClay to be trying to get his own
offense and trying to force these shotslike he did with the Warriors. That's
all I heard from Warriors fans andfor people to cover the Warriors like Clay
just forces it too much and takesthese bad jobs. Okay, let's put
(17:03):
him in a system where he doesn'tdo that, because you're not asking him
to do that as much. Standin the corner, do exactly what you
do. Come around screens every oncein a while, we'll run stuff for
you. They'll probably have to openthe playbook up a little bit more because
they can now with the guy likeKlay Thompson that they wouldn't do for Tim
Hardaway or somebody else in the past, but they'll do it for Clay.
And so yeah, do that kindof stuff and run around and catch it
and get get five wide open threes. Like just get get five wide open
(17:29):
threes. A game that Lucas gonnaspoonfeed to you that you wouldn't get with
the Warriors, right, like,and maybe maybe they did get some of
them with their system and they're runningand all that, but like it's going
to be He's going to help inthat regard. It may not be the
best for Clay himself, but it'sgoing to be good for the Mavericks.
I mean, if you just lookat the history of what guys have been
able to do playing alongside Luka Doncicand the career numbers that they've been able
(17:52):
to pull up. I mean,Derek Jones Junior to gets thirty million dollars
from the Clippers in part because hebecame a thirty four three point shooter and
a the offense that a lot ofthem have as many open threes that he
had. Like, this is theoffice that we're talking about here, and
now you put Klay Thompson in it, it kind of gets supercharged in that
way. So I'm excited to seehow quickly he will be able to gel
(18:12):
and mess with this team. Again. The big factor being for him this
stage in his career in terms ofhis health. If this is a guy
who look if he is going toremain healthy for the next two to three
years, this window remains wide openfor them, and it's not like his
shot is necessarily going to fall off. We don't think based on the way
that he has been able to shootthroughout the entirety of his career, he
(18:33):
slinging shot in NBA history is justgonna stop working. That's what I'm saying.
Yeah, Like, it's funny youbring that up because I told people
in the past, people you know, kind of looked at me kind of
funny. I was like, Yeah, if I had to pick a jump
shot of the two between Stephan Curryand lay Thompson, I would actually pick
lay Thompsons shot. I feel likehis jump shot is always ever said that,
Oh I did not know that.I had not heard that or saying
(18:55):
it, But yeah, I wouldpick lay Thompson's shot of the two if
I was picking like the prettier jumpshot of between Steph and Clay. But
again, Steph said, if stepsaid, if you're gonna teach like a
young kid to shoot, look atclay shot, not mine, Like,
yeah, that makes sense because hisjump shot is amazing, but that that
just shows you how amazing Stephan Curryis. The fact is broken yet,
(19:18):
But I'm the greatest three point shooterthat ever lived in the history you know
of the league. So the fitbasketball wise is great, which gets me
to the whole front office portion ofthis, because Nico Harrison has turned what
has been not a destination spot forNBA free agents and has turned it into
(19:41):
a place where players won't you comeand play? And we had talked about
it when he first got this jobthat one of his big, you know,
drawing points were his connections around theleague, his ability to have the
relationships that he's had working as anexecutive at Nike, and how that could
possibly translate itself into the job ofbeing GM. And he has done that
(20:02):
beautifully to where not only are therelationships connecting, but he has shown a
brilliant basketball mine in terms of whatthe Mavericks have needed to fit around the
kind of scheme as system that JasonKidd and this group have wanted, and
he has found the right players tobe able to do it. I mean,
it helps to have Luka Doncis youknow, at the top of all
this, but at the same time, you still have to find the right
(20:22):
players to fit around the guy tomake it work. And he's done that.
Fantastically so far. Yeah, thewhole Dallas is going to get a
seat at the table. Like thatwhole thing starts with him creating all these
relationships for so long, working forNighttown and being in these meetings and being
Kobe's guy. Like I was acouple of weeks ago, I was just
on TikTok. I was just scrollingand every once in a while, get
(20:44):
like an old NBA clip where'll belike, look at this, and it's
Kobe Bryant a Team USA practice forthe Olympics, and he's sitting on a
table and Anthony Davis, young AnthonyDavis, like the first time he played
Team USA. Anthony Davis like likeshort hair, like buzzed hair, Anthony
Davis with the unibrow, and he'sgot these sunglasses on and Kobe's like messing
with them. He's like, youdon't want to cover the unibrow with with
(21:06):
sunglasses And they're laughing back and forthand it's funny, and like right in
the middle is Nico Harrison just sittingthere looking back and forth at each of
them, like being like just therewith Anthony Davis when he was that young,
at that point, like that pointin his career. He's known these
guys for so long, and he'sbeen around and he's been in pitch meetings
with Steph Curry and with Kobe andwith all these guys, and so he
has these relationships. We see himall the time before games talking to in
(21:30):
Anthony Davis talking to some of theseplayers, are talking to a you know,
the other GM And he's just beenaround for so long that he knows
all these guys, has the relationships. That's why they've gotten a seat at
the table. And then you gotto give him credit for you know,
taking that those relationships and then,like you mentioned, building a team that
makes sense. We're just talking aboutbefore like before this, I just tweeted
(21:52):
the roster from twenty twenty two totwenty three, so two seasons, so
two seasons ago, so like thebeginning of the twenty twenty dud tess only
three season after the lost bruntson theroster was Luca Dinwittie, Dorian Phinney Smith,
Reggie Bulock, Christian Wood, TimHardvey, Junior, Josh Green,
Maxi Kleiba, JaVale McGee, Dwightpal Theopens and Davias Bretton's Faco composo,
(22:12):
Tyler Dorsey and somebody that I'm forgetting. None of those guys start on any
other team in the NBA, right, Like it's wild maybe Dorian starts on,
Maybe Dorian starts on a couple otherthan that, though they're not starting
on any other teams in the NBA. None. And to go from that
roster, which he had a partin setting up and did the Christian Wood,
(22:33):
Javal McGee deals and all that andtried that, but to go from
that to what the Mavericks have nowwith Kyrie and Clay and Derek Lively,
PJ Washington, Daniel Gafford, QuintonGrimes, Nachie Marshall, who are both
additions and a lot of people aroundthe league, like, you know,
to have o Max as a guythat could be up and coming, that
that's young, but if he ifhe discovers his potential this year, all
of a sudden, that's an incrediblead that you could add to this team.
(22:56):
And so like to go from thattwo years ago to now incredible and
to still have a couple of firstto work with and maybe the add one
more guy in free agency. They'vegot one more roster spot in some room
under the first apron, but nota lot. So it's been an incredible
thing to watch. Yeah, Igive this front office a lot of credit
because you look at it with NicoHarrison, Michael Finley, obviously with Andrew
(23:18):
Baker, like this entire front officehas done the creative work to put this
roster together. Again, it makesit a little bit easier with a starting
point to have arguably the best playerin the league, you know, on
your team and you made the NBAFinals, but it takes a lot of
work to be able to find theright chemistry to put this team together.
And with Daniel Gafford at PJ Washingtonbeing at it at the trade deadline,
(23:40):
one of the things that I thinkwent so underrated and underappreciated is the fact
that this team found a way tomake that kind of run on the fly
that they did and really remade theiridentity at the trade deadline, and they
were able to parlay that all theway to a finals run. That is
extremely difficult to do. And nowyou're going to give this group an entire
offseason in adding now the championship experienceof a Klay Thompson to this group.
(24:03):
Already with Kyrie Irving being there asa champion as well, and now Luca
having a chance to have experienced theNBA Finals. I am this is a
scary team based off of what theylearn in terms of their experience, but
now being able to marry that withanother player that provides them something that they
desperately needed during the playoffs and particularlyin the NBA Finals, which is someone
(24:25):
that could, damn it knock downa three pointer with some consistency. And
now they have arguably, well,I would say the second greatest three point
shooter that the history of the gamehas ever seen in that way, probably
yeah, and another scoring option,another guy that can do that. But
to the Nico Harrison point, like, just dude, he just has done
something at every turn, every freeagency, every draft, they didn't have
(24:48):
a pick. He got Jayden Hardy, you know, they didn't seem like
that. Any moves in front ofhim, he gets Najen Marshall gets you
know, Quentin Grimes makes that happenevery single turn. He's done something and
keeps moving this roster forward, keepmoved in to droster Ford, and he's
not been afraid to make huge moves. Christopher Parzingis trade was one of the
first huge moves he did where hetraded Porzingis, who was an All Star
and was a big part of thisteam for Dinwitty and a bad contract in
(25:11):
Davias Burton's and he took that riskand well, it didn't look like it
was gonna work out at first,and you're like, wait, why did
they just do that? They justdid it for financial flexibility and Dinwitty,
and then all of a sudden theygo to the Western Conference finals and you're
like, oh, okay, everythingworked out. He's fine, everything's good
now, everything's good now. Yeah, yeah, you just kept making it
work. And you give him creditfor taking big swings at it because he
(25:32):
continues he took the swings at itto make it happy. Well, yeah,
Kyrie. The leveraging that relationship andhim believing in him and trusting the
infrastructure that he and Jason Kidd hadbuilt to absorb Kyrie irving into it.
That was just another example of look, this can work here. And one
of the things as we get readyto end today is we heard reported that
Klay Thompson wanted to feel respective,he wanted to feel wanted during this process,
(25:55):
and that he wanted to be somewherethat felt like was going to give
him the chance not only to wina championship, but like he was part
of a quote unquote family at thisstage in his career. And the Mavericks
have been able to prove that overthe time that they've had Kyrie irving so
far to be able to feel likeClay could have that kind of confidence here.
It's just again speaks to the structurethat they've put in place here,
and that doesn't start unless you havesomeone like a Nico Harrison and yes a
(26:18):
Jason Kidd to be able to buildthat and then your superstars and Luke and
Kyrie believing in it so much thatit's become successful. And now Klay Thompson
wanted to be a part of thatin that way to finish it off.
I think the culture is going tobe good for Klay Thompson get out of
you know, he's been there forso long. Some of that wears on
you. You know, it's likelive with a sibling for too long,
(26:40):
or you know, have a roommatefor two thirteen years. There thirteen years
long time. It's a long timeto be hanging out with with Draymond Green.
We want to tell you. Imean, four titles gotta help some
some of that. But yeah,when you've seen him punch a teammate and
it's probably not the first one,you go wonder why I get the punch?
You know, one is what isthe punch coming for me at this
(27:02):
point? And so I think it'llbe refreshing to come over and not have
a huge personality like that, rightlike they had Grant Williams and he's gone.
They don't have a huge personality likethat, And I think that that
could be refreshing for Clay's. Itis a pretty chill team. They just
they get together. They uh,you know, they want to win basketball
games and there for each other andall that kind of stuff. And we
saw what Kyrie Irving, what happenedto Kyrie Irving when we went from Brooklyn
(27:26):
to Dallas and just got to chilland focus on basketball. And he was
like, Wow, this is thisis great. Like, it's great,
it's great, bro Ski pro nameit's it's great. It's great. It's
great. Bro, It's it's great. It's great. This likes great,
Bro. I have no complaints.I don't. That was Kyrie sarcastically when
he first joined the Mavericks on aTwitch stream, and now he's now he's
(27:49):
a lot more happy. I thinkyou were the professional Kyrie social media maven
at that point. I remember itwas amazing. I was like, Wow,
he's just gonna stream live and Iwas like, literally anything could happen
right now, and you were allover it, all over it, anything
like Kyrie's eating habits, Kyrie's likeNick was all over it during that initial
(28:11):
time. I wanted to know itall. I was like, what is
he gonna what is he gonna brought? You just be listening to music.
Sometimes sometimes he just why why helikes to here? Because you wanted to
get to know Kyrie the person.Look at you. Look at you set
an example for us. I meanI wanted to I did not know Kyrie
the person. I'd known Kyrie theactions. I had not seen ky I
did not know Kyrie the person,and you did all the investigative work to
(28:32):
help help us find that out bysitting and watching Twitch exactly. Nick,
tell the folks I can find youwhat you got going on man, lockdown
maps, YouTube podcast everywhere at Nickvan Exit on Instagram, TikTok Twitter.
Appreciate you Nick is your best friend. Covering the Dallas Mavericks. He does
a tremendous job. He's a madman. He hit me the other day say
hey. I was like, hey, you know, good job, you
(28:53):
know putting out that one podcast.They almost did three of them because Luca
played you know what teams will beagainst Bill. Maybe I'll do that to
the Oh this is my last.Kyrie draws Steve versus the Machines since she's
taking over. That's it. Theywant us to be purpose purpose, that's
right. Were there practice one day? Well a practice one day? It
(29:18):
was a map social media clip wherethey have they have like a screen on
the wall that tracks their their shotsduring practice. And so Kyrie was shooting
like ninety eight percent or something likethat, and he shows the wall and
it's Steve versus the Machines. Oh, Kyrie, imagine Clay with that tracker.
Oh my gosh, that's look watchingthree point practices with this team now,
(29:41):
it was going to be so muchfun. They don't have that bell
anymore. That was the Rick Carlislething right where they used to have like
this bell, like the dinner bellthat you would like ring like with the
rope that sticks out of it andDarryl Armstrong, a coach of the of
the Maps, they would do athree point shooting thing where they you take
you go around the world twice basicallyhow many shots that you hit and he
would ring it if they somebody gotwas perfect around the rim and they would
(30:06):
ring it all the time with client. Now. I bet yes, I'm
sure it would happen all the time. Nick, thank you so much for
joining me here on the show.Man. I really appreciate you. Man.
I'm need a recovered beer. Oome too, has been hot today
ane myself for sure. That'll doit for this episode of Inside the Massic.
Thank you to Nick gang set alockdown master joining me here on this
(30:26):
episode. Makesure a download and subscribeto the podcast wherever you get your podcast
for free, give it a fivestar rating, write a review for it
while you're there, makes you likea comment on the video and subscribe to
Kevin Gray Sports here on YouTube.You can follow me on Twitter as well
at the same at Kevin Gray Sports. Of course, I'm your mavers Spring
post game host on the Dallas MavericksRadio Network. This has been Inside the
Mask presented by Aura
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.