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Klay's father expresses concern that his son is 'struggling to find his place' with the Mavericks, according to an interview on NBC Sports Bay Area.

Klay Thompson and the Dallas Mavericks are headed in a completely different direction than the Warriors right now.

The former Golden State guard was acquired by Dallas in a sign-and-trade deal last July, and it’s safe to say his 2024-25 NBA season has not gone how he hoped it would.

Just take his father, Mychal’s, word for it.

Mychal Thompson (@champagnennuts) spoke on his son Klay’s experience in Dallas since the Luka trade. pic.twitter.com/qxdt7vM8KR

— ESPN Los Angeles (@ESPNLosAngeles) March 6, 2025

“No, no not at all,” Mychal Thompson said Thursday on ESPN Los Angeles’ “Mason & Ireland” show when a caller brought up Klay not expecting the Mavericks’ season to unfold the way it has when he signed. “He thought with Luka [Dončić] and Kyrie he had a chance to get back to the Finals. Obviously Luka left. When I told him [Anthony Davis] is coming, you still got a chance to get to the Finals because AD’s that good. Then he’s hurt. And then [Daniel] Gafford got hurt and then [Dereck] Lively got hurt.

“So yeah, Klay is stuck in purgatory right now, and if they hang on to the 10th seed, that will be the story of the year in the NBA. Because I think they’re going to lose 10 in a row.”

The unfortunate series of events, to put it lightly, that the Mavericks and their fans have experienced this season, including the stunning Dončić trade and the injuries to Davis, Gafford, Lively and now Irving, have presented Dallas (32-31) a very difficult path back to the playoffs this season.

However, if the Mavericks were to get some of their injured stars back down the stretch, Mychal Thompson believes they still have a chance to make it through the NBA Play-In Tournament.

“If you get AD back, if you get the other two bigs back, you’ve got a chance at least to get to the first round and to try and get out of it,” Thompson said. “But without Kyrie, they can forget about going to the Finals.”

That’s fair.

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