The Dallas Mavericks aren’t a bad team by any means, but they do have a few players who don’t really fit on their roster long term.
One of those guys is Klay Thompson, who is probably better suited to be on a contending team that could use his shooting and veteran leadership.
Among the many teams that could make sense to pursue Thompson, the Denver Nuggets are at the top of that list. Nikola Jokic has proven that he can get anybody open shots, so adding a player like Thompson would be a wise decision.
The question for the Nuggets is what they’d have to move on from, with a Sports Illustrated writer recently proposing a trade to make it happen.
Mavericks Receive: Christian Braun, 2026 First-Round Pick (26th overall)
Nuggets Receive: Klay Thompson, 2026 Second-Round Pick (48th overall)
“This trade would save the Nuggets $4.1 million this season, and plenty more in the future. Thompson could add more spacing around Nikola Jokic, while the Mavericks could add an intriguing talent to their perimeter, hoping he can bounce back to form when healthy. If not, they get to trade up into the first round of a really good draft class to get a better chance at adding a talented young player. This trade wouldn’t be able to be official until July 1st due to a trade restriction, though,” Austin Veazey wrote.
I don’t hate the idea of bringing in Thompson, but I also don’t love moving on from a first-round pick and a young player who has been a decent part of this organization over the past few years.
Braun didn’t have a great year, at least by many fans’ standards, but he’s still not a bad player. He averaged just 12 points, 3.4 points lower than he did a year ago. He only shot 30.1% from 3-point range, the worst figure of his career.
