OAKLAND – Klay Thompson’s decision last month to relocate from the Bay Area to Texas was influenced by several factors, none more than the happiness of one of his new teammates in Dallas.
Kyrie Irving was, according to Dallas coach Jason Kidd, the lead recruiter behind Thompson leaving the Warriors for the Mavericks.
“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 on the latest episode of NBC Sports Bay Area’s “Dubs Talk,” which debuted Tuesday. “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.”
This would be the second time Irving has fractured the Warriors. The first time? That came in the 2016 NBA Finals. As a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, his game- and series-clinching 3-pointer in Game 7 at Oracle Arena prompted Golden State to pursue Kevin Durant and shed much of its roster in the process.
What’s interesting here is that Irving, who earned the reputation of being one of the NBA’s most mercurial figures, is unveiling an unprecedented level of stability and fulfillment.
Irving got restless after six seasons – and one NBA championship – with the Cleveland Cavaliers and wanted out. He was traded to Boston, expressed a commitment to the Celtics, and after 127 games, signed with Brooklyn upon becoming a free agent. Disenchanted with the Nets after playing 143 games over three-plus seasons, Irving was traded to Dallas in February 2023.
Since joining the Mavericks, Kyrie has been productive and effective and, more to the point, content. His decision to join the Nets with Kevin Durant was an engineered collaboration between the two. Irving’s decision to persuade Thompson is one man selling his franchise to someone he respects.
