"Underperforming in Dallas is better than in LA" - NBA fans react to Klay Thompson's reported reason to pick Mavericks over Lakers in title pursuit

Former Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson chose to join the Dallas Mavericks over the summer. Chris Haynes, however, claimed during free agency that the LA Lakers were interested in acquiring the seasoned shooter. Haynes claimed the Lakers offered to trade D'Angelo Russell to the Warriors for Thompson.

However, that didn't work and Thompson had a sign-and-trade deal to join the Mavs. ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported that the four-time champion joined Dallas because of their chances of winning the title. According to MacMahon, the elite shooter thought Luka Doncic's team had a better chance than the Lakers of winning a championship.

The Lakers played five games in the first round of the previous postseason before losing to the Denver Nuggets. In contrast, the Mavs advanced to the NBA Finals and faced the Boston Celtics.

After MacMahon reported on Thompson's decision, fans piled on the five-time All-Star on X (formerly Twitter).

"He knows underperforming in Dallas is better then in LA," a fan said.

"Mavs not winning a ring lol 😂. They’re definitely not getting back to the finals this year," another fan claimed.

"Ofc like why would he's playing for flopper and LA taxes is crazy than dallas for him," one fan said.

Other fans understood the logic behind Thompson's decision since the Mavs made it to the finals in the previous playoffs.

"They were in the finals duh," one fan said.

"He’s not lying, Lakers are a** 🤣🤣," another fan said.

"And he’s right they just went to the finals the lakers haven’t gotten better but most of the west has," one fan commented.

This season, the Mavs have a 5-5 record in the West, while the Lakers are 6-4 under first-time head coach JJ Redick.

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LeBron James addressed the Lakers missing out on Klay Thompson

The Lakers did their best to try and acquire a star over the summer. They went for DeMar DeRozan, who was also a free agent during the summer, in addition to Klay Thompson. DeRozan, however, agreed to a three-year, $74 million deal with the Sacramento Kings.

Unfortunately for the Lakers, none of their prospects could be signed last summer. LeBron James addressed it during the middle of free agency and complimented the organization for trying to add a third star.

James stated that the Lakers will "move on" from their loss of Thompson and won't mope about it. He praised DeRozan and the Mavs star for being excellent players. The four-time champion also mentioned Jonas Valanciunas, a player the team targeted over the summer.