Another Californian is packing up and leaving for Texas.
Say what you will about residential relocation motives, but in terms of sports, it’s a storied and strange pipeline that Klay Thompson will enter July 6 when he can officially sign the deal.
Thompson is certainly not the first nor will he be the last Bay Area sports legend to take his career to the Lone Star State.
After arriving as a 2011 first-round pick and helping shoot the Warriors to four NBA titles, Thompson is reportedly leaving in free agency for the Dallas Mavericks. He’s scoring a three-year, $50 million deal.
That money could go a long way almost anywhere. So, Texas? Ugh.
“Trade nothing to Dallas ever,” Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young tweeted last summer, when the 49ers shipped 2021 draft bust Trey Lance to the Cowboys.
Yes, the 49ers-Cowboys rivalry is on a more championship-laden level than the Warriors-Mavs, the Giants-Rangers, the A’s-Rangers, the Sharks-Stars and the Earthquakes-FC Dallas feuds.
Then again, the Warriors did beat the Mavericks in the 2022 Western Conference Finals — and Thompson scored 32 points while shooting 8-of-16 from 3-point range in that close-out Game 5 — en route to their fourth NBA championship with him, Steph Curry and Draymond Green as their legendary trifecta.
Any California export to Texas can merit a cringe. State taxes surely couldn’t have swayed Thompson, who made over $266 million in his Warriors career. Heading down to Dallas is easier to digest from a rivalry standpoint than heading south to the Los Angeles Lakers, for whom his father played and now calls games on radio.
Here are three notable Bay Area-to-Dallas moves over the years from each of the major men’s pro franchises, with apologies for overlooking an old-timer or two, and for excluding players whose career had a layover elsewhere before arriving in Dallas:
WARRIORS
Harrison Barnes 2012-16 Warriors, ’16-19 Mavericks
Erick Dampier 1997-2004 Warriors, ’04-10 Mavericks
Antawn Jamison 1998-03 Warriors, ’03-04 Mavericks
49ERS
Deion Sanders 1994 49ers, 1995-99
Charles Haley 1996-91 49ers, 1992-96 Cowboys, ’98-99 49ers after 1-year retirement in 1997
J.D. Smith 1956-64, Cowboys 1965-66
*Hall of Famer Terrell Owens spent 2004-05 with the Eagles between stints with the 49ers (1996-2003) and Cowboys (2006-07)
GIANTS
Will Clark 1986-93 Giants, ’94-98 Rangers
Bengie Molina 2007-10 Giants, 2010 Rangers
Hunter Pence 2012-18 Giants, 2019 Rangers, ’20 Giants
ATHLETICS
Jose Canseco 1985-92 A’s, ’92-94 Rangers
Bert Campaneris 1968-76 A’s, ’77-79 Rangers
Claudell Washington 1974-76 A’s, ’77-78 Rangers
SHARKS
Joe Pavelski 2006-19 Sharks, 2019-24 Stars
Antti Niemi 2010-15 Sharks, 2015-17 Stars
Artus Irbe 1991-96 Sharks, 1996-97 Stars
*Hall of Famer Ed Belfour had a 1996-97 stint with the Sharks before playing five seasons with the Stars, making four All-Star appearances for them and winning the 1999 Stanley Cup.
EARTHQUAKES
Arturo Alvarez 2003-04 Earthquakes, ’05-08 FC Dallas, ’08-10 Earthquakes
Richard Mulrooney 1999-2004 Earthquakes, 2005-06 FC Dallas
Atiba Harris 2014 Earthquakes, 2015-17 FC Dallas
*Assisting with this research were former FC Dallas coach Marco Ferruzzi and former pro player Josh McKay, the latter of whom runs McKay’s Beer Garden in Pleasanton.
**While they didn’t go to Dallas, the Earthquakes franchise essentially relocated in 2006 to become the Houston Dynamo, only for an expansion franchise to return in 2008 with the Quakes name. In 2009, Chris Wondolowski came back to his native Bay Area and became MLS’s all-time leading scorer before retiring in 2021. Also, the Earthquakes recently fired coach Luchi Gonzalez, who formerly was FC Dallas’ coach.
Former Pinkston guard Dink Pate is signing with the NBA G League’s Mexico City Capitanes after the shutdown of G League Ignite’s program, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Friday.
Just over a year ago, Pate announced his decision to forgo college and sign with the G League Ignite. Pate was the youngest player to sign with the G League ever, and the first from Dallas-Fort Worth to do so.
A 6-8 guard, Pate was the No. 21 player in 247Sports.com’s national class of 2024 rankings and the second-ranked player in Texas. He was The News’ newcomer of the year in 2021 at Pinkston and split his sophomore season between Prolific Prep (Calif.) and Lancaster. He returned to Pinkston as a junior and averaged 20.3 points per game. He was named the District 13-4A MVP in 2022.
In 31 games with G League Ignite last season, Pate averaged 8.0 points and 3.8 assists. He’s projected to be a first-round pick in next year’s draft.
Staff writer Shawn McFarland contributed to this post.
Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
Despite claims they would be “all-in,” the Dallas Cowboys have been all quiet this offseason. They did have a solid draft and added veteran linebacker Eric Kendricks in free agency, but outside of that, they didn’t do much to improve their roster.
With training camp set to begin later in July, there’s still time for the Cowboys to add some much-needed talent.
They’ve had some success in the past when it comes to trades, including moves to add Brandin Cooks and cornerback Stephon Gilmore in 2023.
That’s why it wouldn’t be a bad idea for them to look for veteran help once again.
Here we identify three players who could be available that would help improve the Cowboys’ chances of repeating in the NFC East.
The Houston Texans were strong against the run in 2023 and should be once again in 2024. They not only return the majority of their stars, but also signed Tim Settle to a two-year deal worth $6 million. His arrival means Khalil Davis will be pushed down the depth chart and might not see the field nearly as often.
A journeyman who has already played for three teams in three years, Davis appeared in 15 games with one start for Houston. He recorded 32 tackles and two sacks, while playing in 41 percent of their defensive snaps, earning a respectable 60.7 in run defense according to PFF.
MORE: DeMarcus Lawrence could be in final year as a Cowboy; he’s been one of the best
That might not be the run-stuffer this defense needs, but the 6-foot-2, 310-pounder from Nebraska boasted a better grade than every defensive tackle on Dallas outside of Osa Odighiziwa. With Mazi Smith as an unquestioned starter yet still a question mark, an emergency backup plan isn’t a bad idea.
Elijah Moore was the No. 34 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. While he’s put up some decent numbers, he has yet to live up to his potential.
In two seasons with the New York Jets, he had 80 receptions for 984 yards with six touchdowns. He was traded to the Cleveland Browns in 2023, along with the No. 74 pick in the draft, for the No. 42 overall selection.
MORE: Should the Dallas Cowboys consider trading CeeDee Lamb?
With the Browns, he improved his receptions and yardage, going for 640 yards on 59 catches, but had just two touchdowns. Ironically enough, he’s potentially sliding down the depth chart due to the promise being shown by Cedric Tillman, who the Browns selected with the No. 74 pick from New York.
Cleveland also added Jerry Jeudy this offseason and signed him to a three-year extension. Moore is a free agent in 2025 and rather than watching him leave for nothing, the Browns might be willing to take a pick from Dallas and give more snaps to Tillman.
This offseason, the Chicago Bears signed D’Andre Swift to a three-year, $24 million to be the feature back. With him taking over, that means Khalil Herbert will slide down the depth chart, but his slide might not end at No. 2.
As good as Herbert has been, the Bears also have Roschon Johnson, a fourth-round pick from 2023. Johnson, a 225-pound bruiser from Texas, had 352 yards on the ground and 209 through the air as a rookie. His potential might be enough for Chicago to decide to trade Herbert, who is in the final year of his rookie deal.
In three seasons, Herbert has 1,775 yards rushing with an average of 4.9 yards per attempt. The problem is he’s only 5-foot-9 and 212 pounds, and has struggled with durability. After playing in 17 games as a rookie, he missed four in 2022 and five in 2023.
Dallas currently has an unimpressive stable of running backs led by Ezekiel Elliott and Rico Dowdle. Adding Herbert to the committee could be the shot in the arm they need to go from abysmal to average.
With a decent passing attack, an average ground game could be enough to keep the offense on task.
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Former Dallas Mavericks guard Kemba Walker has decided to step away from playing basketball after 12 years in the NBA and spending the past year overseas. While he was only with the Mavs for nine games in the 2022-23 season, he did have a 32-point explosion against the Cavaliers in a Dallas uniform.
Walker made the announcement official on Carmelo Anthony’s podcast, “7PM In Brooklyn”. Walker is a New York native and it had to be a cool moment for him to exclusively retire on a New York themed show.
READ MORE: Warriors’ Star Draymond Green Gets Emotional About Klay Thompson Signing With Dallas Mavericks
Most will remember Walker’s career with the Charlotte Hornets, and rightfully so, but the Mavericks tried desperately to sign Walker in the 2019 offseason before he joined the Boston Celtics, ironically, after current Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving left the Celtics to sign with the Brooklyn Nets. Despite being just 29 years old when he signed with Boston, his knees were already pretty burnt out and he’d only be with them for two seasons before being traded to the Thunder in exchange for Al Horford.
Walker was selected to four All-Star games and hit one of the most iconic shots in NCAA history, hitting a step-back jumper to sink Pittsburgh. He carried UConn on an impressive run to win the Big East and NCAA Championship that season. With his retirement, The Mavs officially became the last NBA team he’d play for.
READ MORE: Luka Doncic’s 26-Point Triple-Double Not Enough in Slovenia’s Blowout Loss vs. Croatia
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