NBA Rumors: LeBron’s Lakers ‘Aggressive’ for Klay Thompson Contract Before Mavs Trade

The Los Angeles Lakers fell short of their pursuit of former Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson, who reportedly agreed to join the Dallas Mavericks on a sign-and-trade on Monday.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on SportsCenter that the Lakers’ failed pursuit of Thompson wasn’t due to a lack of trying.

“Dallas was really aggressive in trying to bring him in, so were the Lakers,” Wojnarowski said at the 0:55 mark.

The Lakers were known to be among the teams pursuing Thompson this offseason. Wojnarowski reported that Los Angeles star forward LeBron James even reached out to Thompson directly when free agency opened.

“I’m told LeBron James called Klay Thompson right when free agency opened,” Wojnarowski said on Sunday. “… These conversations, this negotiation will go into tomorrow.

However, Thompson’s first trip to the open market in his career didn’t last very long, as Dallas secured a deal to acquire the four-time champion. Wojnarowski noted that Thompson turned down four-year offers worth more money than the three-year, $50 million deal he received from the Mavs because of “the chance to win a fifth championship with the Mavs and difference in state taxes.”

The star duo of Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving led the Mavs on an unexpected run to the 2024 NBA Finals, where they fell to the Boston Celtics in five games. Thompson likely believes Dallas gives him a better chance at competing for a title next season than Los Angeles, which was eliminated from the playoffs in the first round in five games against the Denver Nuggets.

The Lakers will have to find other ways to add talent around James and Anthony Davis this offseason if they hope to return to title contention in 2024-25.