The Mavericks face a stark reality. Dumping Klay Thompson is crucial for their future, securing a better draft pick for a promising young star.
DALLAS - The vision - such as it was - is not going to be realized.
A teenage Cooper Flagg growing up alongside a trio of future Hall of Famers in Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson?
Flagg is the only rookie making a dent in this year's All-Star voting, and that veteran threesome? Kyrie, AD and Klay have between them 24 All-Star appearances.
But none of those vets are participating in that event this year, as all Irving and Davis can do right now is go to injury rehab.
And that leaves Thompson ... and where he should go is far, far away from the Dallas Mavs.
The Mavericks are not "at a crossroads''; they have been smashed in the face with a "stop'' sign and there are positioned frighteningly close to the cliff.
This is not a playoff contender; it's an "Organic Tank'' © no-brainer. And anything and anyone who gets in the way of that must be jettisoned.
Which brings us to Klay Thompson.
Thompson is now 35 and he's not the "Splash Bro'' he once was while winning titles alongside Steph Curry in Golden State. But he’s averaging 11.2 points per game while shooting 35.8 percent from beyond the arc - numbers that are just good enough to help .... Dallas win a couple of meaningless games.
Those wins would hurt the Mavs' status in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery, which in terms of building around Flagg should be just about all that matters around here right now.
We can make the argument that Dallas should move Thompson - via cut or trade - as a favor to him, the logic being that he's "earned the right'' to play for a contender.
We don't care much about that.
What we do care about is the Mavs finding a trade partner who will value Klay's shooting, his leadership and the credibility his four rings bring. ... while not blinking at his $16 million contract.
He was supposed to be a sort of "final piece'' to the Mavericks puzzle; that's worked out miserably for all involved.
Next step? Let him be the "final piece'' for somebody else's puzzle.