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Talks of Klay Thompson being traded by the Mavericks or an ultimate buyout loom large, with the Heat and other suitors awaiting word.<\/p>\n
As he prepares for his 16th year in the NBA, Klay Thompson<\/a> still has the hunger and determination to get back to the top of the league. Although his role has decreased drastically since leaving the Golden State Warriors<\/a> in 2024 for the Dallas Mavericks<\/a>, the 36-year-old sharpshooter still has something left in the tank and could be the difference for a contending team right now.<\/p>\n In terms of Thompson’s mentality, he wants to be somewhere he can contribute to winning basketball and help the team<\/a> be in a contending position.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to compete for a championship. Not necessarily win another one, but have the chance to go and try and get another one,\u201d Thompson said on a Twitch live stream recently. \u201cI want to play a role on a team that can make a deep playoff run, whether it\u2019s this season or next season. That\u2019s really my only goal.\u201d<\/p>\n The Mavericks were in the 2024 NBA Finals not too long ago, right before Klay joined the team, but a lot has changed with the organization since then.<\/p>\n Luka Doncic was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a>, new ownership made countless internal changes, Jason Kidd was replaced by Dusty May<\/a> this summer, and this organization is now solely focused on continuing to build around 2025 first-overall pick Cooper Flagg.<\/p>\n That is why Thompson’s future is not with the Mavericks.<\/p>\n Since the end of May, the Mavericks have made the former five-time All-Star available in trade talks as he enters the final year of his contract at $17.5 million. To this point, while there are teams with a level of interest in the veteran’s services, no extensive trade talks have been held, sources told ClutchPoints.<\/p>\n Among the few suitors with interest in Thompson, the Miami Heat<\/a> have long stood out as the team with the most motivation to add one of the league’s all-time best 3-point shooters. After securing a trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> earlier this offseason, the Heat have been seeking ways to continue adding perimeter-scoring threats.<\/p>\n Three-time All-Star guard Bradley Beal was a player the Heat held mutual interest with, but he ultimately decided to return to the Los Angeles Clippers on a two-year, $13.2 million contract<\/a>. This new deal pays Beal almost double what the veteran’s minimum with Miami would have paid him, and he received a player option in the second year of his new deal that is only partially guaranteed for $3 million.<\/p>\n With Beal off the board, Thompson remains the Heat’s top target late in the offseason, but complications remain in their pursuit to add him.<\/p>\n Miami only has about $10.6 million to work with before reaching its first-apron hard cap, and the Heat still have access to $8.9 million of their mid-level exception. The best scenario for the Heat is Thompson reaching a buyout with the Mavs and ultimately accepting a majority or all of this MLE.<\/p>\n However, league sources say Thompson has not yet approached the team about a potential buyout, and the Mavericks are focused on finding a trade for the veteran sharpshooter. The Mavericks do not hold interest in buying Thompson out<\/a> and want to utilize his expiring contract to add something of value, whether it be second-round draft assets or something else.<\/p>\n Even though the Heat could get creative with a trade offer revolving around 23-year-old forward Nikola Jovic, this doesn’t appear to be a scenario Miami wants to see play out. Jovic is a young talent the Heat have coveted since drafting him 27th overall in 2022, and he is one of the team’s only youthful options after trading Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Kasparas Jakucionis for Giannis.<\/p>\n Despite the Heat internally discussing the idea of trading Jovic<\/a> earlier this offseason after acquiring Antetokounmpo, specifically as they continued to map out their pursuit of LeBron James in free agency, the team ultimately decided against such a move.<\/p>\n After a disappointing 2025-26 campaign, Jovic enters the 2026-27 season with his four-year, $62.4 million extension that he signed last year kicking in. He will be on the Heat’s books for $16.2 million this upcoming season.<\/p>\n Aside from the Heat, two other teams with a level of interest in Thompson are the Lakers and Warriors. Then again, both teams would only have interest in adding the current Mavs’ wing if he were to be a free agent, meaning a potential buyout in Dallas.<\/p>\n As far as a potential return to the Warriors goes, team sources say Thompson would be welcomed back to the organization with open arms if he were to secure a buyout and become a free agent. Down the line, it’s possible Klay will reunite with Steph Curry and Draymond Green to ride off into the sunset and retire with the franchise he won four championships with.<\/p>\n But as of this moment, it’s highly unlikely Klay will return to the Dubs before the 2026-27 season.<\/p>\n One of the reasons for this is because if he were to reach a buyout, Miami and Los Angeles would loom large in terms of offering him a solidified role on a championship-contending team.<\/p>\n The Lakers have long been a team linked to Thompson.<\/p>\n Aside from having interest in him when he was a free agent in 2024 and being considered a finalist, Klay is from Los Angeles and has always been open to the idea of going back there. His father, Mychal Thompson, spent five years with the Lakers and is currently a broadcast analyst for the team, constantly advocating<\/a> for his son to join LA.<\/p>\n Not to mention, Thompson originally joined the Mavs in 2024 to have the opportunity to play alongside Doncic as the team’s top catch-and-shoot opton. With Luka running the show in Los Angeles, the Lakers become an even more attractive destination for Thompson.<\/p>\n In terms of their cap sheet, the Lakers don’t have anything other than a minimum contract to give any free agents, and 16 players currently reside on their active roster. Even if Thompson were to become a free agent, the fact that they can’t offer him anything more than a minimum deal limits the feasibility of adding him.<\/p>\n The Orlando Magic were a team with serious interest in adding Thompson when he was a free agent in 2024, yet the Magic have not expressed any interest this time around, sources said.<\/p>\n Now in the middle of August and training camps around the NBA beginning in just over six weeks, Thompson’s future remains unknown. The Heat are clearly the most motivated team to add his services and have a spot on their roster for him, but the Mavs have yet to make a definitive decision on what to do.<\/p>\n It remains a possibility that he begins the 2026-27 season in Dallas before possibly being moved before February’s trade deadline.<\/p>\n In 69 games with the Mavericks last season, Thompson averaged 11.7 points and 2.1 rebounds per game while shooting 38.3 percent from 3-point range. Thompson has shot 40.9 percent from 3-point range in his career and ranks fourth on the NBA’s all-time 3-pointers made list, trailing Ray Allen for third by 74 triples.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n As he prepares for his 16th year in the NBA, Klay Thompson still has the hunger and determination to get back to the top of the league. Although his role has decreased drastically since leaving the Golden State Warriors in 2024 for the Dallas Mavericks, the 36-year-old sharpshooter still has something left in the tank and could be the difference for a contending team right now.<\/p>\n