When star guard Klay Thompson signed with the franchise last summer, he envisioned being in the championship hunt at this time of the year and playing alongside Irving and Luka Doncic. Instead, that dream is long gone with Irving on the mend, Doncic in Los Angeles, and the Mavericks fighting for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.

Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (31) is cheered by the bench ... It’s much more than Thompson’s 14.5-point average and 39.9% 3-point shooting. It’s the fact that as a 35-year-old ...