When Luke Kennard arrived in Hollywood, the impact could immediately be felt all around the Los Angeles Lakers. The improved spacing from having Kennard on the floor served as a reminder of something the Lakers should have always know: Luka Doncic likes playing with shooters.
One of his old teammates should be available in the summer to help improve that department for a potential trade suitor. After bypassing Los Angeles to join Doncic, Klay Thompson's experience with the Dallas Mavericks was worn out its welcome and should be coming to an end. Mavericks reporter Noah Weber believed Klay was not likely to survive the offseason in Dallas.
"Rumors emerged at the trade deadline that he wanted to play for a contender. ... Thompson's best fit at this point in his career would be to come off the bench for a top team, and Dallas should do right by him and send him wherever he likes this summer."
Thompson only got 21 games with Doncic on the Mavericks. Reuniting Luka with one of the greatest 3-point shooters in NBA history makes a ton of sense in theory. In practice, that idea could be riddled with complications for both sides.
A Klay Thompson trade to the Lakers would be hard to navigate
Thompson is coming off his worst year as an NBA pro. The former Splash Bro only averaged 11.7 points, shooting career lows from the field (39.3 percent) and from beyond the arc (38.3 percent). The less said about how much Klay has fallen off on the defensive end, the better.
The reason for the Lakers even exploring the idea of adding a 36-year-old Thompson would be the idea of what Doncic does in creating for everyone around him. The final embers of Klay's legendary shooting ability would still theoretically burn bright around the superstar point guard.
What exactly does that cost the Lakers? Thompson is earning around $17.5 million in 2026-27. That is a number that no longer matches the player he is. Granted, Klay would be an expiring contract. Los Angeles could rework a more manageable cap hit in the 2027 offseason.
Even so, while the Lakers will have cap space to absorb money, it would deal a hit to their potential free agency haul elsewhere. One would imagine Rob Pelinka and company would want to match up the money fairly closely in any trade negotiations here.
That would probably mean a package of something akin to Jarred Vanderbilt and Dalton Knecht going outbound for Thompson. Is that worth it for the Lakers? On the flip side, is that even enough for the Mavericks?
Paying up much more than that does not make a tremendous amount of sense for the Lakers. If the Mavericks are not content with kicking the tires on jumpstarting Knecht's career, there is little value to be had from a deal where the optics will not look great for Dallas.
Remember, any move the Mavericks make that could be viewed as helping their former superstar will be dragged and ridiculed in the public. That much was already suggested by Lakers reporter Dan Woike before this year's trade deadline.
The pathway to a Thompson-Lakers trade is not impossible, but it does come across as fairly improbable. Los Angeles would be a bit of a long shot when it comes to figuring out what contender the future Hall of Famer finds himself on after this season.
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