Seth Curry believes Klay facing ‘a little adjustment’ in Mavs move originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
By moving from the Warriors to the Dallas Mavericks, Klay Thompson is bound to encounter drastic differences in climate, culture, politics and society.
Basketball, however, might be his biggest adjustment.
Thompson has spent his entire NBA career, which began in 2011, as the shooting guard alongside point guard Stephen Curry, a two-time MVP known as much for his constant movement as his spectacular 3-point shooting.
In Dallas, however, Thompson will be the small forward in an offense in which the primary playmakers are plodding Luka Dončić and mercurial Kyrie Irving.
Charlotte Hornets guard Seth Curry, a teammate of Dončić for 100 games with the Mavericks, believes there will be a learning curve for Thompson.
“It’s going to be a little adjustment for Klay, playing with Luka and Kyrie – and not in that Steph system, playing with [Curry] and Draymond [Green],” Curry told NBC Sports Bay Area last week at the American Century Championship golf tournament in Lake Tahoe.
Dončić often strolls about the court while dribbling away much of the 24-second clock. His movement is spare and deliberate but purposeful. He generally reaches his destination, but he does so at waltz tempo.
Stephen Curry is a frenetic tap-dancer who has long been the sun around which Golden State’s offense revolves. Every new Warrior quickly realizes that sharing the floor with the franchise player can be challenging because of his unique ability to simultaneously fill both point guard and shooting guard roles – often in a single possession.
Kevin Durant acknowledged his first two months with the Warriors were spent learning how to play effectively with Curry. Whenever asked about the team’s offense, he consistently said, “it’s Steph.”
Nobody grasped that better than Thompson, whose off-ball efficiency made him the practically perfect backcourt partner for Curry. Their separation means the end of something special.
“It don’t feel right, seeing Klay in that Mavericks uniform wearing 31,” Seth Curry said. “But he had a great run in Golden State. He was solidified in what he did there, winning those championships. That ‘Splash Brothers’ backcourt is the greatest of all time and they did a lot of special things.
“But let’s hopefully see Klay in a different uniform, back to being happy doing what he does. I know he’s got a lot of years left to give to the game.”
Thompson, 34, has in some ways been a member of the extended Curry family, a brother to Seth’s more famous brother. All three are fabulous shooters. Seth Curry’s 43.1-percent career shooing from deep ranks third among active players. Stephen Curry (42.6 percent) ranks fourth and Thompson ranks (41.3) ranks seventh.
Just as Thompson must learn to operate in a system unlike that installed by Warriors coach Steve Kerr, Curry must adapt to playing without his hand-in-glove teammate.
Because Stephen Curry spent almost two years without Thompson – who was sidelined with a torn left ACL, followed by a ruptured right Achilles tendon – he has a bit of a head start.
It is Thompson’s new start that comes with a sharp contrast in style.
“But Klay is a basketball player; he’s a hooper,” Seth Curry said of Thompson’s adventure in Dallas. “He’ll figure it out and I’m sure he’ll have a great time and there and win a lot of games.”
Probably will, once Klay and Luka and Kyrie get beyond the trial-and-error that begins when they meet for training camp.
NBC Sports BayArea
