LeBron James called, pitched him personally, and was willing to take a $16 million (or maybe larger) discount to bring him home to Southern California. Then Lakers GM Rob Pelinka called with the ultimate sign of NBA respect: Money. Los Angeles would offer four years, $80 million to the 34-year-old former champion (providing they could work out a sign-and-trade). Thompson’s final pitch to stay with the Warriors reportedly had been two years, $40 million, the Lakers would double that.
Thompson chose to go to the Dallas Mavericks for three years, $50 million.
There are a few reasons, according to league sources, who spoke to NBC Sports, as well as reporting from people close to Thompson and the Mavericks.
Any discussion of Thompson’s choice has to start with this foundation: Money was not at the top of his priority list. It wasn’t second. Thompson has the privilege of having earned $268.7 million in salary alone during his 13-year NBA career, plus much more from shoe deals and other endorsements. This is not a young player looking for a first shot at generational money. This is a veteran with the security not to have to put money first.
Part of what the Mavericks offered was a chance to contend again — Dallas was playing in the Finals this past June. They looked like a team tentative in its first steps on this biggest of stages and in need of more shooting, both things Thompson believed he could help with. The Lakers only won three fewer regular-season games than Dallas, but they were a play-in team whose best player turned 40 next season and who hired a rookie coach. From Sam Amick at The Athletic.
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Thompson had watched the Mavericks’ NBA Finals run and told those close to him how he envisioned fitting in, creating space for Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving on the offensive end while bringing his championship credentials to their rising program.
However, the more significant thing Dallas offered was a chance for Thompson to change the narrative around himself. To feel genuinely appreciated again.
Thompson spoke with Kyrie Irving, and if anyone knows about coming to Dallas and changing the narrative about them, it’s Irving. As ESPN’s Tim MacMahon laid out on the Hoop Collective Podcast, Irving “met him where he was” and listened to Thompson’s experience in Golden State, then talked about his experience in Brooklyn and then in Dallas, and how he felt like he found a home with the organization. Having come from an organization that he thought was home but became turbulent over last season, this appealed to Thompson.
The Lakers unquestionably pitched that same concept to Thompson but was going back home to another West Coast team known for catering to its stars really the kind of change Thompson sought?
Then there was a conversation with former All-Star player turned Mavericks executive Michael Finley about the vibe around the Mavericks organization, the city, and the fan base. Dallas’ pitch was chill, not aggressive, connecting well with Thompson’s laid-back aura. In the end, for Thompson, the fit was just better in Dallas, as Amick summed up perfectly at The Athletic.
They met him where he was, both figuratively and literally, respecting his four rings and making it clear that he was their top priority of the offseason. They kept their meeting in that back room of the restaurant laid back, conversational and casual in ways that fit perfectly with Thompson’s off-court vibe. And in the end, with [Mavericks GM Nico] Harrison and Finley there to explain why the Mavericks could offer such a respite from the turmoil of his Warriors days, Thompson decided to pursue his basketball peace.
That decision made the Mavericks one of the winners of the NBA offseason — they got better (despite losing Derrick Jones Jr.). What that will ultimately mean in a gauntlet of a Western Conference next season remains to be seen, but Thompson made the best choice for him.
That choice was not the Lakers, no matter what was on the table.
