The Dallas Mavericks' offseason has finally slowed down over the last couple of weeks, and they finished building their roster with the signing of Spencer Dinwiddie to a one-year deal. While re-signing Markieff Morris looks like it's on the way, the Mavs seem content with the roster they have heading into training camp. A portion of training camp is reportedly going to be in Las Vegas this year, and that will give the team the perfect opportunity to bond and build chemistry before the season. Dallas has several new additions to the roster heading into next season, with the biggest signing being Klay Thompson. The Mavs signed Thompson to a three-year deal worth $50 million, and he is expected to hop into a big role right away. On the OGs Show with Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem, NBA insider Shams Charania of The Athletic dove into Thompson's role with Dallas, and he is going to be getting plenty of run for the Mavs next year according to what Charania has heard. "He will be the guaranteed starter there," Charania detailed. "He’s going to be guaranteed whatever it is, 28-30 plus minutes a night. I think that was very important for Klay, playing the minutes that he wants to play." It's been known for a while now that Thompson was going to be a definite starter for the Mavs, but this new bit of intel that Charania provided about Thompson's minutes per game in Dallas is intriguing. Thompson wanted to go somewhere that he was going to be a key piece, and that's exactly what he'll be for the Mavs. Thompson seems to have been guaranteed a huge role in Dallas, and 28-30 minutes per game puts him in the perfect position to turn into the Mavs' third star. 30 minutes per game would give Thompson the fourth-most minutes on the team according to last year's rotation with only Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and P.J. Washington playing more minutes per game, and Thompson is going to have every chance to prove that he is still the player that he was before for the Golden State Warriors. Golden State started bringing Thompson off the bench last season for the first time since his rookie year, and now he is poised to going back to being the star shooting guard that everyone knows him to be. Thompson clearly felt disrespected by the way the Warriors handled him, and Dallas guaranteeing him this marquee role and giving him the chance to compete for a championship intrigued him. He is trying to win his fifth NBA championship, and he felt like the Mavs gave him the best chance to do that. Thompson is going to be playing heavy minutes on a consistent basis for the Mavs, and this is the perfect role for Thompson to show Golden State that they shouldn't have left him go anywhere. Alongside Doncic and Irving, Thompson helps them form one of the best big threes in the NBA. Dallas was the perfect choice for him, and he is going to be getting more open shots than ever before due to Doncic and Irving's creation ability and the attention they command from the defense. The Mavs also have plans of getting Thompson involved in "creative ways," and their new-look offense could be even more deadly than before. For all the latest on Klay Thompson and the Dallas Mavericks all offseason long, stay tuned as we'll have you covered. ## Thompson's Role with Dallas: A Fresh Start After 951 combined regular season and playoff games with the Golden State Warriors, Thompson comes to the Dallas Mavericks with something to prove. After missing the 2019-20 season with his ACL injury, suffered in the NBA Finals, and missing the 2020-21 season with a torn Achilles, Thompson grew increasingly frustrated with his role on the Warriors. Despite playing in 77 games in the 2023-24 season (starting 63) where he averaged nearly 30 minutes a game, Thompson seemed destined for a new team when the Warriors were unwilling to meet his extension requirements. The Warriors loss is the Mavericks gain; Klay Thompson is arguably the most important free agent signing in Dallas history. It’s interesting to consider Thompson’s understanding of his role coming to Dallas when paired with the lofty expectations of a Dallas team that just reached the NBA Finals. Klay’s proved his durability after missing two straight seasons due to injury, playing 69 games in 2022-23 and 77 games in 2023-24. For comparison, Luka Doncic played 66 and 70 games in those two regular seasons. However, durability isn’t the question here, it’s ability. He’s 34 years old with the two major injuries on his record; at some point that catches up with a player’s athleticism. His defensive ability has clearly suffered and that capacity has always been a major part of Thompson’s appeal as a player. The Mavericks certainly need Klay’s shooting and if he’s able to play within the strong team defensive structure, then him playing 25-30 minutes a game should be no issue. But if he’s not effective, or worse, if he’s detrimental on the defensive end, head coach Jason Kidd has a challenging task ahead of him. Klay may have been given assurances, but the Mavericks have their sights set on the NBA Finals. Thompson is sure to have a major role in that quest, but guarantees in terms of roles and minutes may mean very little once the reality of the NBA season sets in. ## Thompson's Impact on the Mavericks Offense While the Dallas Mavericks did not only just add firepower scoring in Klay Thompson, they also added Spencer Dinwiddie to help with ball handling for Irving and Doncic, which are critical. Dallas needed another creator of shots for teammates to make the game easier and make the offense less predictable. To get more formidable along the defensive end of the court, the Dallas Mavericks added Naji Marshall, a tough-minded small forward with a long wingspan to be able to guard the team’s best scorers. The Dallas Mavericks didn’t stop there and doubled down on a defensive small forward wing in Quentin Grimes to be able to slow down opposing teams’ top scorers, which in return should put the Dallas Mavericks in the top half of defensive efficiency. Add these moves the Dallas Mavericks have made in free agency, and it is clear to see the Mavericks are not a fluke and are pushing not to only just get back to the NBA Finals. They have done enough creating a big three in Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and adding four-time NBA Champion Klay Thompson. The expectations are to take the next step and win an NBA Championship! ## Thompson's Catch-and-Shoot Prowess Throughout his decorated NBA career, Thompson has demonstrated time and time again that he is one of the league's premier high-volume shooters, especially in catch-and-shoot, where, despite his worst scoring season in nine seasons, where he amassed an average of 17.9 points on 43.2 percent field goal shooting and 38.7 percent from three-point range, 8.6 of those points came from catch-and-shoot. Furthermore, when he had between 0–2 seconds of touch time, the five-time All-Star's effective field goal percentage was 56.5 percent, further highlighting his ability to get his shot off both quickly, yet with accuracy. Klay Thompson - 2023-24 Season Catch-and-Shoot Statistics Category Statistic PTS 8.6 FGA 7.7 FG% 38.4 3PA 7.1 3P% 38.1 EFG% 55.9 Granted, since his back-to-back season-ending leg injuries from 2020-22, he hasn't quite recovered his devastating long-distance form, but he has still shown he can shoot close to 40 percent from beyond the arc, having recorded a 39.7 percent average since his return from injury and a 57.1 percent true shooting percentage. Additionally, Thompson ranked fourth in the NBA during the regular season for three-pointers made with 268, with his new teammate Dončić registering in second place with 284 made three-pointers, giving Dallas even more long-range firepower next season and beyond. GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Klay Thompson has hit five-plus three-pointers in the first half of a game over 70 times, the second most in NBA history behind Steph Curry (143 times). ## The Future for Thompson and the Mavericks Fortunately for Thompson, his role in Dallas will be a simple one - to shoot the ball when it's passed to him by one of his All-Star teammates. As such, it is likely he will see a reduction in his usage rate, where last season, his 23.4 usage percentage was the third-most among the Warriors behind Stephen Curry (30.2%) and Jonathan Kuminga (23.7%), despite being his lowest figure since the 2017-18 season (23.2%). For context, this figure is far below that of Dončić (35.5%) and Irving's (27.4%) numbers from last year's regular season campaign. All in all, coming into the 2024-25 campaign with a chip on his shoulder after having felt disrespected by his former team, there is no better time for Thompson to prove his doubters wrong, and that could yield significant dividends to a franchise who have already established themselves as a championship-caliber team. Could the Mavericks return to the NBA Finals next season? Quite possibly, but we will have to wait and see. All statistics courtesy of Statmuse, ESPN, NBA.com and Basketball Reference.