Kyrie Irving Explains Why It Was So Easy To Convince Klay Thompson To Sign With Mavericks

One of the biggest moves during the NBA offseason involved Klay Thompson being dealt to the Dallas Mavericks to create a rather horrifying three-headed monster of Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and himself. While Thompson was technically traded to Dallas, he undoubtedly circled a few teams around the league as a potential landing spot, and Irving jumped on the opportunity to ‘recruit’ the three-point specialist to The Big D.

Well, luckily for Irving and the Mavs, Thompson didn't need much convincing.

During the Mavericks' media day earlier this week, Irving was asked about Thompson's arrival and how it all came to be and gave a candid answer about how his own (rather shaky) past experiences was part of his pitch.

"It was easy to convince Klay to come here," Irving explained. "Because of just what I had experienced thus far in the past year and a half of just being welcomed and embraced. And I don’t mean that cliche. I mean that truthfully … This team does a great job of protecting you, not just on the court but off the court. They go out of their way to make sure you feel special."

READ: Klay Thompson's Dad Isn't Happy His Son Chose To Join The Mavericks, Voices His Frustration On Radio

Irving got a fresh start in Dallas when he joined the team in 2022, and Thompson will be looking for a similar refresh after coming off of his worst season, statistically, since the 2012-13 season, his second year in the league.

Thompson averaged 17.9 points per game with the Warriors a season ago while shooting under 39% from three-point land. Despite those numbers, he's still a shooter every team in the NBA has to respect night in and night out, which is something Doncic is well aware of.

"When me and Kai, when we have the ball, you basically can't help off of Klay," Doncic said during media day. "Because if you leave him wide open, he's going to make it. So I think the spacing is going to be crucial for us, but more of that, I will tell you after a couple games."
 

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.