Former All-Star Believes Mavs Will Have 'Happy' Klay Thompson

Thompson's former teammate is looking forward to seeing Klay in the perfect spot

Jun 13, 2019; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) celebrates with center DeMarcus Cousins (0) during the first half in game six of the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit:Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Klay Thompson is off to a rough start in the preseason, but confidence remains he's going to be a key addition to the Dallas Mavericks. His three-point shooting should give Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving the spacing they need to excel.

One of Thompson's former Warriors teammates, former All-Star DeMarcus Cousins, recently appeared on the "Run It Back" podcast and thinks Thompson is in the perfect situation, and that Dallas improved after going to the NBA Finals.

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"Obviously, Dallas got better," Cousins said. "They added a third piece that complements them perfectly. There's less pressure on Klay to perform how they were expecting him to perform in Golden State. So it's less pressure in Dallas. I think we see Klay have a really good year. He's going to be a perfect complimentary piece. He's been that before with championship teams. I think he has a good comeback season. The biggest thing is we'll see a happy Klay. Klay's looking to be loved and embraced, and I think Dallas is the perfect fan base and city to achieve that. So we'll see a happy Klay and that's good for the NBA."

A big reason Klay decided on Dallas was seeing how the city and fanbase embraced Kyrie Irving after some tumultuous stints with the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets. That convinced him to depart from the only team he'd ever played for after it was clear he wasn't enjoying playing basketball last season.

Despite his lowered emotions, he still averaged close to 18 PPG on great shooting from three-point range. If he can provide that to this team, the Mavs will be a threat to win the Western Conference once again.

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