After a surprising run all the way to the NBA Finals, the Dallas Mavericks haven’t made many dramatic changes this season.

For the second year in a row, the three most important players are Luka Dončić, Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II.

Luka will still be one of the top scorers and playmakers in the league, but the additions of Naji Marshall and Quentin Grimes likely don’t represent huge upgrades over Derrick Jones Jr. and Tim Hardaway Jr.

But there was one splashy move, even though the new free agent is well past his prime. Klay Thompson is now a Maverick, where a streamlined role could extend his Hall of Fame career.

Dallas shouldn’t want the 34-year-old to stop moving the ball. That’s a wrinkle that could make the Mavs offense more dangerous than in the past. But Luka can also make some of the easiest threes Thompson has ever made.

The Slovenian point man can create threes as often and effectively as anyone in the NBA. And if Thompson is just ready to catch and shoot (something he’s never had a problem with), he’ll hit a lot of threes in 2024-2025.

He won’t make the defensive impact he had during his prime, but Lively, Marshall and Daniel Gafford can help on that front.

Dallas isn’t dramatically better than it was in 2023-2024, but it didn’t really need to be that way to remain at the level of a title contender.