Tim MacMahon On Why Klay Chose Dallas, What Mavs Moves Could Be Next | Shan & RJ

Tim MacMahon On Why Klay Chose Dallas, What Mavs Moves Could Be Next | Shan & RJ

that the Dallas Mavericks got the deal done as all the all the uh NBA insiders were suggesting and one of them part of my uh favorite NBA podcast this is what I take naps to not an insult not an insult I try to stay awake I’m sure he would take it like that you got bonts you got windhorse and Tim McMahon from ESPN on the DNM leasing hotline here on 1053 The Fan good morning Tim thanks for joining us howdy Partners take naps that’s all right because I I rarely wake up in time to hear you boys yeah I’ve been noticing uh I’ve been noticing windhorse he was a little snippy last week I thought he was this innocent Satan woo he was a he I could tell when he’s running on no sleep he was a little snippy I thought he’s always running on no sleep so he’s increasingly snippy but that’s part of the deal Tim does it feel like this could be the missing piece for the Mavericks uh to match Boston or be closer than they were in the finals H how how do you think Mavs fans should be feeling today well look obviously the the lack of three-point shooting caught up to the Mavericks in the finals you’ve just added one of the all-time great uh catch and shoot guys you know one of the best three-point Shooters to ever play the game now obviously Klay Thompson is not in his prime you know I mean if he was in his prime then it’s 50 million a year not 50 million over three years yeah um and and you know there are some some questions in terms of okay how do you build a a the kind of defense that they had late last season through the playoffs with clay and the starting lineup next to Luke and Kyrie but hey this is the western conference champions uh being aggressive and upgrading their roster so I think you’ve got to give the Mavericks a lot of credit for having a plan give Nico Harrison a lot of credit for being able to execute the plan I mean how many times have the Mavericks you know uh swung and Miss on big name free agents and and again you can say well Clay is not the superstar that he used to be well that that’s all fine and good but the simple fact of the matter is Mavericks were recruiting against the Lakers the Lakers offered more years for a larger salary and Klay Thompson’s coming to Dallas so pretty significant accomplishment there um and then again I think it look this might be the best offense in the NBA next season like the Mavericks might set the record for the most efficient offense in NBA history because that’s a record that seems to get broken every year now um the question is can they be not not an elite defense but an above average to good defense and if they are you know who knows anything’s possible what was he last year defensively Tim I mean you can look at the metrics and the different numbers that tell you stories but what did you see with your eyes or or or what do you trust about what clay was and still will be defensively is he serviceable is he good is below average well and this is something I’ve asked a lot of Scouts that these last couple days and the answer that I get back is average maybe a bit below at this point and look clay in his at his bet like he’s been an all defensive player but obviously that was in his 20s that was before a torn ACL before a ruptured a killes um I’ll say this he’s a significantly better defense player still than Tim Hardway Jr was um despite the fact that Josh Green is Young and uh athletic he’s a better defensive player right now than Josh Green was last season and you know I think the other thing when you’re looking at clay defensively last year again there there are physical challenges clearly he was miserable last year in Golden State I mean you know there’s a lot of reporting out there on just how difficult the season was from a psychological perspective for him and kind of you know it was a long dragged out divorce process essentially so you know it’ll be interesting to see how he looks on that in the floor refreshed re-energized and and you know really feeling valued and appreciated with the Mavericks but like is he going to be a stopper no um will they miss Derek Jones Jr as far as the primary defender on some of the the elite guards that you’re GNA face seemingly night after night in the Western Conference I I think there’s times that they will um but they think Derek live II has a chance to be like a an absolute defensive stud not just your kind of traditional defensive anchor but you know I’ve had people there compare him to like a Kevin Garnett or or joem Noah in terms of centers who can really impact uh the game defensively all over the floor not just in the paint uh there’s going to be a lot on his plate you know Naji Marshall that that was a good signing that was a you know if things got complicated with like they did that was a good pivot um I you know I think a guy like Dante xom’s going to be a little bit more important next year just because he is a pretty good on ball Defender but that’s the puzzle they’ve got to figure out how can they make this a a decent to good defense because offensively yeah you got the best playmaking duo in the league and you know say what you want about hey Clay is not what he used to be what he is is a guy who can launch high volume three at a high percentage and I guarantee of this if he’s staying out past the three-point line you’re guarding him and that’s going to open up the floor for uh for luk and Kyrie to go to work Tim is there anything else they can do or are they pretty strapped at this point uh you know there’s always more than they can do uh I NCO Harrison is really trying to be very cautious with doing anything with a first round pick they now have 25 and 31 you know technically available to trade um but you know that that’s all they have they’re so they’re going to be very selective there they have an open roster spot uh not to get super geeky but they’re basically limited to a minimum salary in that spot maybe it’s bringing back markei Morris kind of as that locker room OG he was a very valued Voice last year um you know the other thing that that that I could see is going after a a g a non ball Defender type of guard who maybe slips through the cracks and is available for the minimum and I tell you your your old buddy Dennis Smith junior if he’s available for the minimum down the road wow he’s become a pitbull defensively I don’t know if he will be I don’t know you know if he’s going to be able to find more money somewhere else I can say though there are people who are who are still fans of Dennis uh in new organization him and Luke are still buddies um and again it it this is not a about lottery pick Dennis Smith Jr this is about hey you could use another guard on the roster yeah especially while he was a pitbull defensively um and you know he would make a lot of sense to me Tim what do you say to the style question of uh you know ISO ball here give it to lucer Kyrie and Clay coming from that motion Warrior system uh what what do you what do you say to Tim legler and those who are bringing that up as as I think a very good point about clay going from that offense to this offense well number one I’m not going to try to Max match ex ex those wits with Tim legler right I think he probably is going to be able to uh have a bit of advantage on me in that regard um but look they’re going to get clay shots like if Tim Hardway Jr got a bunch of shots when he was on the floor trust me Klay Thompson’s going to touch the ball Klay Thompson’s going to get not just three-point looks but in a lot of is clean three-point looks and you know if you’re running pick and roll Luca and and Lively and and Clay’s on the week side like that seems like it could be pretty tough um and and you know the one thing that the Mavericks did last year that honestly I didn’t believe would happen J kid told us it was going to happen in training camp I’m like yeah right and it did and that was they they played fast they were the seventh fastest paced team in the league which you know I was like not playing fast for Luka but Luca bought into it and my point is if if they’re playing fast if they’re pushing it there’s going to be threes that present themselves in opportuni that pres present themselves to Clay uh in those transition semi- transition and look well they if he hadn’t touched in a while will they sometimes run a play for him absolutely you know they they didn’t go out and recruit clay just to have him you know stand out on the wing and pick his nose um but stylistically it’s going to be like I’m sure there will be uh an adjustment for him but again I think that they’re going to figure out ways to uh to to make sure that he is involved and being maximized uh on the offensive end of the floor ESPN NBA Insider hoop Collective podcast T McMahon here on Sean and RJ 1053 The Fan what influence did Kyrie have on this and what are you hearing about Luca’s reaction to Clay well you know Luc is obviously busy he’s uh he’s over in Europe actually they’ve got Olympic qualifying Tournament game today but my understanding is he’s ecstatic um but look the one thing that Luca isn’t and might never be is a recruiter right he he just doesn’t have the the same type of relationships you typically see from guys in that role um he doesn’t have necessarily that kind of personality Kyrie does you know and Kyrie has a relationship with Klay Thompson they won a World Cup gold medal together they won an Olympic gold medal together obviously you know they’ve competed against each other at the highest level in in finals and Kyrie was I’m not going to say he was the lead recruiter like you have to give Nico Harrison uh his due here but Kyrie was a significant part of the process and I talked to his uh his agent stepmom CH tell O’Reiley Irving yesterday and basically what she told me is you know with Kyrie it’s really not trying to sell Clay on hey here’s why you should come to Dallas but it’s just having kind of honest authentic conversations about hey hey you know where are you in life you know what are you looking for and I think the message that Kyrie really gave to Clay is you know what what I found here in Dallas to this point is a sense of family and my understanding is I didn’t talk a lot about uh the way things ined for Kyrie and Brooklyn the way things ined for clay and Golden State but the simple fact is at both of their last stops different circumstances but they both felt underappreciated you know disrespected uh and you know things have obviously really worked out for Kyrie here he’s happy they just came off finals appearance and uh and Clay’s looking for that same kind of uh that same kind of opportunity for you know not to get all hippie dippy but peace and happiness Tim uh I saw a post from uh from our boy Chuck cooperstein uh saying that this puts to bed the idea the Mavs can’t sign big names does it or because he’s not in his Prime does this not really count well listen you you can debate is he a star still all those sort of things but the simple fact of the matter is it was mavick versus Lakers for a bigname free agent and the most glamorous franchise in the NBA had more years at a higher salary on the table now the Lakers going to have to jump through hoops to make that happen but they were talking about a fouryear 80 million deal with Clay the Ms had three for 50 he chose to come to Dallas you know that’s uh the idea that Dallas is just some no way destination for free agents yes that’s off the table now you know how many times are the Mavericks going to be able to be in this this sort of a situation moving forward we’ll see obviously Luca is going to be on a supermax uh for for a while you know it’s not like they’re going to be a team that’s just has a ton of cap space but you know the idea that free agents don’t want to come to Dallas or you know guys don’t want to play with Luca I do think that’s off the table Tim what do you what what is the exchange here and what you gain from uh Naji and Grimes compare with what you lost in Jones and for my own selfish purposes can you explain what happened with Derrick Jones Jr leaving for essentially the same deal they gave Naji Marshall what happened there I I honestly it’s not quite the same deal there is a few million dollars more but the the explanation that I was given for things really getting complicated with him doesn’t necessarily match up because there is there is a 15-day mandatory wait uh when you change agents yeah but he didn’t have to wait for La yeah but that that that’s not the way things played out that was kind of blown through um but look they are in a tight cap situation not just a cap situation but with with the the first apron in the hard cap and a whole bunch of things that are boring and you need an accounting degree to understand um you know they I think 27 was as high as they were going to go uh obviously that’s what Naji Marshall got and I I believe that it came down to a situation where you know they felt like Jones wasn’t a sure thing anymore more and when they had an opportunity to to add Naji Marshall and and get that done and know they had that slot buil they went ahead and pounced on it and you know talking to Scouts around the league there’s a lot of uh a lot of them move told me they feel like the Mavericks actually upgraded that spot you know a big key here was the way Naji shot the ball last year was at the beginning of a trend like when Doran finy Smith had his breakout three-point season or you know was that uh kind of the a blip on the radar an exception but he’s a he’s a better shooter he’s a you know guy who’s capable of doing more with the ball um extremely tough now can he be as good as Jones was as the primary defender on the you know the the JW morance the uh not the jaw was a factor this year but you know the all the the Shay guildas Alexanders all these Elite quick playmaking guards that probably not I think he’s more Dorian finy Smith than he was Dereck Jones Jr but uh he’s a tough dude you know that’s the thing you always hear and this dude is a dog you know there’s toughness they loved him in New Orleans they just got to a situation where because of the hard cap they couldn’t pay him um you know I think that was a a good pivot instead of risking not being able to have either um but again I don’t want to diminish what Derrick Jones Jr meant to this team yeah uh on the defensive end the floor especially late last season and through the playoffs Tim McMahon ESPN here on the fan what what has impressed you in talking to him or what you’ve heard or just the actions themselves in the moves from Nico you know I would say just having a plan and and being aggressive to to execute it um and just you know kind of having the the belief and you know the follow through um and and again they’ve been in situations where they’ve been able to sit down with freees before they’ve never been able to get it over the Finish Line when there was real competition I would say um so yeah you have to give them credit there but you know going back to when uh when he he went out and made the move for Kyrie which obviously that was a move that was heavily questioned at the time and even more so when it didn’t go well you know for the first few months they end up in the lottery and his thing was look we have the duo we’ve got to figure out how to build around them and piece by piece uh you know he’s done that well enough to get to the finals and then you know to uh take these swings where they think that they’re upgrading to finals roster thank you so much for the time man appreciate it keep killing it on the podcast you’ll uh you’ll be in my ears later on today in a few hours all right appreciate you Brothers [Music]

Why did longtime Splash Brother Klay Thompson choose to leave Golden State and bring his talents to Dallas? ESPN NBA insider Tim MacMahon joined Shan & RJ to discuss why Thompson chose the Mavs over the Lakers, what moves could be next for the defending West champs, why DJJ chose to leave for LA, and more!

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