One of the biggest stories of the 2024 offseason was the Klay Thompson trade. The primary teams involved in the blockbuster deal were the Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors. The Charlotte Hornets also got involved to help facilitate the move.
In the process, the Hornets received Josh Green, whose 3-and-D skill set has made him a potentially ideal complement to LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller in the starting lineup.
It might be too early to anoint which team won the mega-trade. Perhaps the Warriors are in the driver's seat, as the players they received, Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson, have helped them compete for a top seed in the Western Conference.
Josh Green has been better than Klay Thompson in a key area
Between Charlotte and the Mavs, though, the former has a case to come out of the trade in a better situation.
Dallas (9-8) has a better record than the 6-10 Hornets. In addition, Thompson has appeared to be more productive than Green, as he is averaging 13.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game compared to the Hornets swingman's 6.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per contest.
However, the four-time champion has been failing at the one thing the Mavs need the most from him. He is converting just 36.8 percent of his tries from beyond the arc. That percentage would be respectable if Thompson weren't one of the best shooters of all time.
The 2023-24 campaign saw Dallas emerge as one of the most proficient squads from long distance, ranking third and second, respectively, in 3-point field goals made and 3-point field goal attempts. This year, it is in the league's bottom 10 in both departments.
Interestingly, Green has turned out to be the most efficient marksman in the NBA this season. He leads all qualified players with 56.4 percent shooting from 3-point land. Although he isn't a high-volume shooter, he has kept defenses honest and given Ball and Miller enough space to operate on offense.
Do the Mavs miss Green? Probably. But if they could turn back the time, would they reverse the trade to keep the Australian hoopster at the expense of not getting Thompson? Most definitely not. Chances are Dallas would execute the deal 10 times out of 10. However, it would have likely tried to keep Green, even if matching salaries would have been more difficult that way.
That's all moot now, as the 24-year-old wing player is thriving in Charlotte. After an impressive first five minutes donning the Hornets jersey, he came back to Earth a bit and has registered some uneven performances. He has picked up the pace, though, as he averaged 10.8 points per game on 55.9 percent shooting from the field and a whopping 75.0 percent shooting clip from 3-point range in his past five appearances.