Gilbert Arenas on Klay Thompson's fit with the Mavericks: "Those shots that were coming to the corners, now that's Klay"

The Dallas Mavericks won the Klay Thompson sweepstakes after the four-time NBA champion agreed to a four-year $50 million deal with the Mavs on Monday.

With Klay on the roster, the Mavericks now have a Big 3 of Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and the Splash Bro. But while it's always great to have a third superstar added to your team, the next question is if the acquisition is a good fit. Well, as far as this addition is concerned, Gilbert Arenas thinks it's a great one.

"When you watch the way Dallas plays, those shots that were coming to the corners, now that's Klay, " said Gil on his podcast.

Klay is a career 44.5% corner, three-point shooter

In a series where they lost Games 2 and 3 by seven points each, three-point shooting hurt the Mavs in the 2024 NBA Finals. Dallas made only 31.6% of their shots behind the arc in the series. They knocked down 22 fewer three-pointers than the Celtics and took 55 fewer three-point attempts.

If you plugged Klay into that series, he could have been the difference-maker. Thompson shot 38.7% from downtown last season, and that was already considered a bad year by his standards. For his career, Thompson is a 41.3% three-ball shooter and is even deadlier in the corner spot at 44.5% .

"We've seen when Tim Hardaway Jr. came in, we see what he did. So now it's really putting a couple of plays in that involve Klay cuz he does move. You don't want him stationary, he is a moving guy, making people run after him," added Gil.

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Adjusting to Dallas' offense

As Agent Zero said, Dallas has to make some offensive adjustments, and Klay has to adapt, too. Thompson thrived in Golden State's motion-based offense, while Dallas utilizes more one-on-one play with Luka and Kyrie. Other than that, it looks like Nico Harrison has made another brilliant front-office move.

Dallas was already a good three-point shooting team before Klay. During the 2023-24 regular season, they ranked third in three-point makes at 14.6 three-pointers, although they were 18th in accuracy at 36.6%. With Thompson being both an accurate and volume three-ball shooter, those numbers should go up next campaign.

The Mavs are coming off an appearance in the NBA Finals. Going back to the championship round and getting another crack at winning the Larry O'Brien trophy won't be easy. But with Klay taking less money to sign with the Mavs, it shows how badly he still wants to win and prove himself, and that's why he should be a great fit alongside the Slovenian superstar in Texas.

Related: "I don't think they have ever been right since" - Brandon Jennings says Golden State's dynasty ended before Klay Thompson's exit