Dallas Mavericks

Klay Thompson doesn't want to hear any talk about potentially regretting his contract with the Dallas Mavericks after the team's season came to an end on Friday with a 120-106 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA play-in tournament.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Thompson dismissed a question asking if he would have made the decision to sign with the Mavs last summer if he had known then what he knows now about the organization's approach to building their roster.

It's not an unfair question to ask because the version of the Mavericks that Thompson signed with looked very different than the one that finished this season.

Dallas was less than one month removed from playing in the NBA Finals and had one of the great pillars to build around in the entire league with Luka Dončić leading the way.

Thompson left the Golden State Warriors in free agency to sign a three-year, $50 million contract with the Mavs. He signed with Dallas despite reportedly having a more lucrative offer on the table from the Los Angeles Lakers and against the hopes of his father, Lakers legend Mychal Thompson.

The idea was that Thompson would be able to elevate the Mavs offense, particularly in the playoffs, after they were held to a 32 percent success rate on three-pointers in the Finals loss to the Boston Celtics.

Of course, no one in the world was predicting seven months after Thompson's signing that the Mavericks would decide to completely upend their franchise by trading Dončić to the Lakers.

Given the two teams Thompson seemed to be deciding between in free agency, he probably would have wound up in Dallas by the end of this season no matter what happened last summer.

The Lakers almost certainly would have used Thompson's contract in the Dončić trade.

Depending on what the Mavericks want to do this offseason, Thompson could find himself on the trade block. He's owed $16.7 million in 2025-26 and averaged 14.0 points per game on 39.1 percent three-point shooting in 72 starts this season.

One of the strangest seasons for any team in NBA history almost mercifully came to an end on Friday night when the Dallas Mavericks lost 120-106 to the Memphis Grizzlies in the play-in tournament to determine the No 8 seed in the Western Conference.

Klay Thompson, who signed with the Mavs as a free agent last summer, called their 2024-25 campaign "tumultuous" before praising the effort of his teammates throughout the season.

What started as a fairly normal season for a Mavericks team with high expectations following an appearance in the 2024 NBA Finals took a sharp turn on Feb. 2 when Luka Dončić was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison may not have been trying to curse the franchise with that deal, but it definitely seemed to upset whatever higher-power basketball gods might be paying attention.

In the span of a month following the trade, Anthony Davis reinjured his adductor muscle in his first game with the Mavs on Feb. 8 that kept him out for six weeks and Kyrie Irving tore his ACL on March 3.

Daniel Gafford suffered a knee injury on Feb. 12 that caused him to miss 21 straight games. P.J. Washington was out of the lineup for two weeks in March due to an ankle injury. Dereck Lively II, who was already injured at the time of the trade, didn't return to the lineup until April 2.

This doesn't even factor in the incredibly poor messaging from Harrison and the Mavericks in trying to explain the reasoning for the trade. Fans were so outraged that they staged protests in and outside of American Airlines Center, along with frequent chants of "Fire Nico!" during home games and in various public venues around the Dallas area.

None of this is the fault of the players, but their performance for the past two months was almost secondary because of the fan outrage directed at the front office for trading a superstar who was on his way to becoming the best player in franchise history.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the Luka Dončić trade was not part of a bigger plan by the Dallas Mavericks to potentially relocate.

Appearing on Thursday's episode of The Pat McAfee Show, Silver explained the Mavs "aren't going anywhere" because they are trying to build a new arena in Dallas and there were no "ulterior motives" behind the move to send Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers.

There have been whispers about the Dumont family, whose purchase of the Mavs from Mark Cuban was approved in December 2023, potentially looking at moving the franchise to Las Vegas.

Vegas has frequently been cited as a potential expansion city for the NBA, with LeBron James teasing potentially joining the ownership group if it were to happen when his playing career comes to an end.

It's not hard to make the connection between the Mavs and Las Vegas. Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont is president and chief operating officer of casino and resort company Las Vegas Sands Corp.

Dumont has consistently shut down talks that the Mavericks are looking to move. On Feb. 9, seven days after the Dončić trade, Dumont told Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News in no uncertain terms the franchise isn't relocating.

"I’m not sure where this is coming from. I appreciate people asking. Our family happens to live in Las Vegas, but we have investments all over the world. And the Dallas Mavericks is the team we bought. We had options to buy other teams in the past, but Dallas was the city that we wanted to be in, and that’s where it’s going to be."

While one would assume that having a superstar player like Dončić on the roster would make it easier for the franchise to get approval for a new arena, that doesn't seem to be an issue for the Mavs right now.

Colin Salao of Front Office Sports noted on March 18 that the Irving Zoning Commission approved in a 5-4 vote to turn a 1,001-acre development area near the site of where the former Dallas Cowboys' stadium was into a mixed-use development.

According to Salao, the Las Vegas Sands Corporation has expressed plans to use that area for a new resort that would include an arena for at least 15,000 people and a theater that would seat at least 4,000.

The Mavs have played in Dallas since their founding in 1980. They have played in the NBA Finals three times in 45 seasons, with their lone championship to this point coming during the 2010-11 campaign.

A year after going scoreless in a play-in tournament loss to the Sacramento Kings in his final game with the Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks veteran guard Klay Thompson was motivated not to let that happen again.

Thompson put forth a vintage performance in Wednesday night's play-in tournament matchup, scoring 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting to help lead the Mavs to a 120-106 win over the Kings at the Golden 1 Center. The 35-year-old admitted that he felt relieved after putting his 0-of-10 shooting performance in 2024 against Sacramento behind him.

"It did feel good to exorcise those demons in here. Man!" Thompson said during his on-court postgame interview with ESPN's Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter, per ESPN's Tim MacMahon.

Things looked a little shaky for Thompson after he went scoreless in the first quarter of Wednesday's game, but his first shot of the second quarter bounced high off the rim before falling through the net.

"That kind of lifted the lid off the rim for me," Thompson said. "So that was nice."

Thompson's teammates knew how important Wednesday's game was to him personally, and he was praised for overcoming his mental hurdles.

"We all watch basketball, and we know how tough it was for him losing here the last time as a Warrior," Mavs star forward Anthony Davis said. "The way he played tonight, you can tell it was a lot of emotion for him and wanted to get this win. We wanted to get the win for him, so I'm glad he played well and glad we got the win."

Thompson will try to help the Mavs keep their season alive when they face the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday with the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference on the line.

Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving is reportedly expected to return from his torn ACL in the middle of the 2025-26 season.

"Kyrie Irving's return, that's the big question now," ESPN's Shams Charania said Wednesday on NBA Countdown. "The expectation around the Dallas Mavericks' Kyrie Irving is that he will play a good chunk of next season, and there's optimism that he will be back for the Mavericks by January, and he's got before that a $44 million player option. 

"That's the next situation that Nico Harrison, the Mavericks will have to deal with, and the goal for the Mavericks has been to rip up his player option and give him a three-year deal, potentially to align him with Nico Harrison's three years and Anthony Davis' three years."

Irving's injury was part of what has largely been a season to forget for the Mavericks.

He, Davis and Dereck Lively II have all missed significant time with injuries, while the fabric of the team changed in shocking fashion when Harrison traded Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Irving's injury came shortly after that trade, which only added to the sense of disappointment for this season.

Still, Dallas will make the playoffs if it wins Wednesday's play-in tournament game against the Sacramento Kings and then defeats the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday. Doing so without Irving will be easier said than done, although at least Davis is back in the lineup.

Realistically, the focus should be on next season for the Mavericks.

If they can add an impact player or two alongside Irving and Davis, they can once again be legitimate threats in the Western Conference even without Dončić. Having Irving healthy is a major part of that formula, and Charania's report suggests he will be back well before the stretch run in the playoff race.

Irving is one of the best guards of his generation with a resume that includes a championship, nine All-Star nods, a Rookie of the Year and three All-NBA selections. He will be the leader of the team's backcourt once he does return, especially since Dončić is no longer on the roster.

And that return is expected in January.

More than two months removed from the Luka Dončić trade, the vibes around the Dallas Mavericks and general manager Nico Harrison are somehow getting worse.

On the latest episode of The Hoop Collective podcast (starts at 21:38 mark), ESPN's Tim MacMahon cited a Mavs team source who explained "the noise is just too loud" amid the ongoing criticism of the ownership and front office for trading their franchise player.

"Talking to a team source tonight, the noise is just too loud," MacMahon said. "You just can't sustain this. You're taking on water and you can't bail fast enough.”

The sentiment came after Harrison and Mavericks CEO Rick Welts held a private roundtable discussion with members of the media on Monday. Pete Freeman of WFAA noted the press invite was sent out with less than 24 hours' notice and "clearly stipulated that no cameras or recording devices would be allowed in the meeting."

Harrison said during the discussion he has "no regrets" about the Feb. 2 deal that sent Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers.

"Part of it is doing the best thing for the Mavs," Harrison said, adding he believes they are still a "championship team" when everyone on the roster is healthy.

While the initial backlash to the trade was loud, it reached a different level on April 9 when Dončić returned to American Airlines Center for his first game as a member of the Lakers.

After getting emotional watching a tribute video that played before tipoff, Dončić proceeded to light up the Mavs by scoring 45 points in a 112-97 win for Los Angeles.

As the game was going on, Mavericks fans in the arena loudly chanted "Fire Nico!" It has become a common refrain in Dallas since the trade, along with protests outside the arena before games.

The Mavs' plan to have Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving as the engine of a top-tier team was upended when Irving suffered a torn ACL against the Sacramento Kings on March 3.

Studies have shown on average an NBA player can return on average in just over 12 months, which would have Irving back near the end of the 2025-26 regular season.

It didn't help matters that Davis was recovering from an adductor strain that limited him to just nine games with Dallas after the trade.

All of the pressure in the world is on Harrison and the Mavs front office to figure out a plan that can make their team a Western Conference contender in a hurry. It won't make up for the sting of trading away Dončić, but it can at least help ease the short-term pain fans are feeling.

The Dallas Mavericks attached conditions to a recent media gathering with CEO Rick Welts and general manager Nico Harrison.

Pete Freeman of WFAA reported the Mavs provided invitations to the "small media roundtable discussion" with less than 24 hours' notice. In addition, the note "clearly stipulated that no cameras or recording devices would be allowed in the meeting."

Welts and Harrison provided initial statements before answering questions from the assembled media. With no audio or visual documentation of the gathering, the team said it would supply a transcript.

For now, little of what was said has come out.

The unique nature of Tuesday's Q&A comes as Harrison and the Mavericks have received steady and often vociferous criticism following the Luka Dončić trade.

The fan outcry was almost immediate as protests and even a mock funeral unfolded outside American Airlines Center. Inside the arena, chants of "Fire Nico" and signs calling for his ouster became a common occurrence.

Harrison and team governor Patrick Dumont have publicly addressed the Luka trade. NBA insiders have provided further rationale to explain why Dallas voluntarily moved on from a generational talent.

Still, a lot of fans in Dallas will argue the Mavericks are displaying a lack of transparency with how they handled Tuesday's presser. Based on the early accounting, it doesn't sound as though Harrison offered up any new insight, either.

Dallas Mavericks star point guard Kyrie Irving is still in the throes of his rehab from a season-ending torn ACL, but he gave his fans a reason to celebrate on Monday.

Irving's ANTA KAI 2 sneakers in a "Dallas" colorway were unveiled ahead of their official release on Saturday:

"Three colorways in, this isn’t just another drop—it’s a love letter to Dallas," ANTA said in a statement, per TMZ. "With every step, it’s a reminder that home is where the heart (and the hoop) is."

The primary colors of blue and white are an obvious nod to the Mavs' team colors. TMZ noted that the spiral design was "inspired by Dallas' Thanksgiving Square." The streaks of yellow are meant to "pay homage to what they call the 'golden era' of basketball."

Irving tore his ACL on March 3, which will likely rule him out for a large portion of the 2025-26 season. He will be cheering on the Mavs as they face the Sacramento Kings in the play-in tournament on Wednesday.

Anthony Davis isn't feeling any added pressure ahead of Luka Dončić's return to American Airlines Center as a visiting player Wednesday when the Dallas Mavericks host the Los Angeles Lakers.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Davis called the matchup against his former team "just another game" that everyone else is making out to be a bigger deal than it is to him.

As soon as the Dončić-Davis trade happened on Feb. 2, all eyes turned to the first time the Lakers visited Dallas. These two teams have already played in Los Angeles since the deal, on Feb. 25.

The Lakers, who won that matchup 107-99, honored Davis with a pregame tribute video celebrating his six years with the organization that included a championship in the 2019-20 season.

There's going to be a different vibe in Dallas for Dončić's return. His trade was a case of the organization that drafted him and watched him become a superstar say it doesn't believe he's going to be able to sustain that performance as he ages due to its concerns about his discipline related to his physical conditioning.

The backlash against the Mavs front office and ownership in the wake of the trade was unlike anything that has happened in recent memory.

Dončić is almost certain to be treated like a returning hero by Mavericks fans on Wednesday.

Adding more potential insult for the Mavericks organization, Dončić and the Lakers could clinch the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference on Wednesday night. Their magic number is at two going into Tuesday's matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Davis' assessment that this is just another game for him is accurate. He is just trying to help the Mavericks in their quest to secure a spot in the play-in tournament.

For every fan who will be in that building and Dončić, who spent seven years as the face of basketball in Dallas, Wednesday night is going to be one of the most unique atmospheres in NBA history where a visiting player might get a standing ovation every single time he touches the ball.

Dallas Mavericks star Anthony Davis will be facing the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday in his first game against his former team since being a part of the Luka Dončić trade, but he's not letting the moment get to him.

When asked about his emotions heading into the game later this week, he kept it simple.

"No emotions," Davis said, per Mike Curtis of the Dallas Morning News.

The Lakers and Mavs met for the first time after the trade on Feb. 25 in Los Angeles, but Davis was still sidelined with a groin injury. He received several standing ovations from the crowd at Crypto.com Arena and a lengthy tribute video from the team. Los Angeles won the game 107-99, with Dončić achieving a triple-double in his first game against his former team with 19 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists.

Davis suffered an adductor strain in his Dallas debut that sidelined him for six weeks, but he made his return to the court late last month. In seven games with the Mavs, he's averaged 20.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.7 blocks. He had averaged 25.7 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.1 blocks in 42 games with the Lakers this season.

It appears that Davis is returning to form, as he scored 34 points in a win over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday and 27 points in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.

Dallas is 38-41 entering Wednesday's game and has a 2.5-game lead over the Phoenix Suns (35-43) for 10th place in the Western Conference and the final spot in the play-in tournament. Meanwhile, Los Angeles has thrived since the trade and ranks third in the West at 48-30.