Buyer’s remorse? – how Klay Thompson feels about joining the Mavs

Thompson shows poise and professionalism when asked how he feels about signing with Dallas now that Doncic is gone

The Dallas Mavericks’ season came to an end after a 120-106 loss to the Grizzlies in the Play-In Tournament Friday night. After the game, Klay Thompson fielded a pointed question that clearly put him on the spot. A reporter asked Thompson: “knowing what you know now, would you have made the same decision to come to Dallas last summer?”

On the surface, this question seems generic enough to be asked to anyone who joined Dallas as a free agent last Offseason. A brief recollection of recent history suggests there was a reason the question wasn’t directed to a player such as Naji Marshall, however.

Thompson joining Dallas was a momentous day for the franchise. At the time, he was quoted as saying “I was watching just as a basketball fan, and I did see, like, ‘Man, I could really help this team. They’re right there.” He went on to say “we’re knocking on the door, and that’s what really got me excited to be here.”

Thompson famously chose Dallas over the Los Angeles Lakers. Rather than play with LeBron James and, ironically, Anthony Davis, he wanted to play with Luka Donic and Kyrie Irving. In regards to Doncic, Thompson said at the time, “I just appreciate someone who is not afraid of the moment and competes till the end. Luka fits that bill. I think we’ll be able to bring the best out of each other.” Thompson’s decision came at the chagrin of his father, Mychal Thompson, as well. The elder Thompson is an announcer for LA and was hopeful to have his son right in his front yard, yet despite all of that, Thompson was Dallas-bound.

In that context, the question asked of Thompson after Friday’s loss bordered on personal. In no uncertain terms, Thompson was asked a difficult question that essentially amounted to “do you regret your decision to join the Mavericks?”

Ever the professional, Thompson handled the inquiry with aplomb. See for yourself.

This really speaks to Thompson’s overall poise and professionalism. His initial reaction is almost comical and defuses what easily could have been a contentious interaction. He then proceeds to call the question out as “ridiculous” before pivoting back to a graceful response which articulates an incredible bit of perspective that the listener can apply to a variety of life situations. “That’s kind of a ridiculous question because I don’t own a time machine and I don’t believe in going back or looking back. If I did that my whole career, I would not be where I’m at and I wouldn’t have been able to persevere through two really hard injuries, so I’m here in Dallas and I enjoyed my time and I’m looking forward to the future.”

Responding while simultaneously demonstrating a perspective of no-regrets perseverance was fantastic on multiple levels. He answers the question, refuses to publicly play into any frustration over the Doncic trade (thus avoiding drama the team has more than enough of already) and incidentally gives us all a bit of encouragement to not look back with regret if there is an opportunity to still look to the potential of a positive future. If this doesn’t endear him to any holdouts in the Dallas fanbase, I’m not sure anything will.