Mike Schmitz addresses the roster shakeup after Klay Thompson’s departure, pivoting from a failed superstar experiment toward a high-stakes era of internal grit and rookie-led competition.
DALLAS - Dallas Mavs GM Mike Schmitz is saying all the right and polite things about the departure of Klay Thompson.
But the goodbye undeniably marks yet another failure in the Mavs' attempts to get back near the top of the NBA.
Schmitz appeared on The Ticket on Friday in the wake of the team's announcement that it had negotiated a buyout with Thompson.
“Very thankful for everything Klay brought to the Mavericks organization,” Schmitz said. “Obviously a competitor, a champion, an all-time great shooter, and really thankful for his contributions to the team and the city and the organization, and wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”
"The best,'' of course, was supposed to happen here, in Dallas, with the ol' Golden State "Splash Brother'' teaming up with Luka Doncic.
"The best'' was never realized ... and as Thompson was owed $17.5 million this coming season, the final year of his contract, he was freed to leave, in one sense following Luka (traded to the Lakers a year ago) out the door.
Our expectation is that he is to sign with the Miami Heat once he clears waivers. In fact, there are already reports that his jersey number will be No. 11.
Our hope? It's gone now, but Dallas looked for a trade before the buyout. ... and that would have obviously been advantageous.
The Mavericks obviously, in the end, opted to be cooperative with Thompson as the page was turned.
“I don’t want to get into too much of the nitty-gritty with internal conversations and all that,” Schmitz explained when he was asked about how another possible transaction didn't work out. “More than anything, just like I said, thankful for everything Klay has given to the team, the organization, the city, and wish him the best moving forward in the rest of the season.”
The buyout moves Dallas from employing 16 players on standard contracts down to 15.
And what does the new GM Schmitz think of this Cooper Flagg/Kyrie Irving-led group?
“You want a culture of competition, a healthy competition where guys are fighting for minutes and the level is raised,” Schmitz said. “And I think you’re going to see that ...
"We feel like some of the additions we’ve made will help kind of foster that competitiveness, along with a lot of the guys who were on the roster when we got here.”
It all begins with Flagg, of course. He started all 70 games he played as a first-year guy and averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. ...
And he won the NBA Rookie of the Year award.
Schmitz joined the Mavericks this offseason when he was hired by another newcomer in team president Masai Ujiri. Dallas then hired coach Dusty May in June, luring his away from Michigan.
And now comes a new chapter ... with Klay Thompson's time in Dallas likely to go largely unremembered.
