Appearing on the latest episode of NBC Sports Bay Area’s Dubs Talk podcast, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said the recruitment of free-agent sharpshooter Klay Thompson this summer was a group effort, but singled out Mavs guard Kyrie Irving as having played a lead role, according to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area.
“When you talk about the recruitment, it was a lot of people that were involved in that. But one of the biggest players in that was Kai,” Kidd said. “Kai being able to, player to player, (detail) his experience of what Dallas has been like for him in two years and being able to tell Klay the honest truth of what he thinks can happen with Klay coming to Dallas.
Irving requested a trade out of Cleveland in 2017, then did the same in Boston in 2019 and Brooklyn in 2023. He was also at the center of a handful of off-court controversies during his time with the Nets. However, since arriving in Dallas, the eight-time All-Star is enjoying an “unprecedented level of stability and fulfillment,” Poole notes, making him an ideal candidate to sell a newcomer on the city and the organization.
“… I would love to say it was all me,” Kidd joked. “But it wasn’t. It was a team effort. But I think player-to-player — in this league, they all talk about their situations, and they all recruit one another — this was about Kai and Klay being able to talk. And I also believe Klay did his homework, just understanding the situation. It would have been an easy for him to stay (in California). So, he had to put in some effort of doing some homework to see what Dallas was all about.”
Although the Mavericks appeared in the NBA Finals this past spring, Irving is the only player on the roster besides Thompson with a championship under his belt (Markieff Morris, who is expected to re-sign with the Mavs, has also won a title). Kidd believes Thompson’s experience on the biggest stage, which includes four championships, will benefit Dallas as the team looks to win its first title since 2011.
“We truly believe that he gives us something that we haven’t had, a guy who’s not afraid to take the shot,” Kidd said of Thompson, per Poole. “He’s been in championship situations. He understands what it means. We believe that we’re building a championship team. And his being a veteran, his experience being in big games and then being able to play both ends, we truly believe that he’s going to make a lot of open shots for us and have fun. But, also, we’re going to lean on him because has won a championship. We’re going to need his advice and his leadership throughout this journey.”
According to veteran NBA reporters Marc Stein and Chris Haynes (Twitter links), several Mavericks players, including Thompson. are practicing together this week in Los Angeles. Irving is in attendance even though he can’t yet practice in full as he continues to recover from hand surgery. He’s doing limited work for now and remains on track to be cleared by the start of training camp.
