Will the Mavericks Trade Klay Thompson? The Dallas Roster Math Says Something Has to Give.
The Dallas Mavericks have a problem. They have 16 players under guaranteed contracts, and they can only carry 15 into the season. That means somebody has to go.
The name at the top of the “somebody” list is Klay Thompson.
Thompson’s $17.5 million contract is the largest expiring deal on the roster, and multiple reports around the league confirm that the Mavericks are actively shopping him. Dallas is not looking to buy him out. They want a trade. And multiple teams are showing interest.
Why Klay is the odd man out
Thompson signed with the Mavericks in 2024 hoping to catch a second wind next to Luka Doncic. The results were, charitably, mixed. Thompson’s shooting was down from his career norms. His defense had declined. His athleticism, which was never elite even in his prime, had faded further after multiple leg injuries.
Then Luka got traded to the Lakers. Then Kyrie Irving tore his ACL. Then Anthony Davis arrived and started reshaping the identity of the team around interior defense. Thompson’s fit in Dallas has been getting worse for a year, and now the roster simply does not have room for him at his current cap number.
Dallas needs veterans who can defend and shoot at a high level. Thompson can only do one of those things now, and even the shooting has been inconsistent. His name value is bigger than his production, which is exactly the kind of situation a team needs to move him out of.
Where he might land
Multiple teams have been mentioned as suitors. Miami has been quiet all summer and could use a veteran shooter. The Clippers were mentioned in the initial reports and always want to add championship experience. And Golden State has come up repeatedly, which would be the perfect movie-script ending for a Warriors legend.
The Warriors angle is complicated because Klay’s exit from Golden State was messy. He signed with Dallas after the Warriors declined to give him the money he wanted, and there were hard feelings on both sides. That said, time heals a lot of wounds in professional sports, and a reunion tour ending would resonate with Warriors fans.
The most likely destination is probably somewhere he can play a small, veteran role for a contender. Miami fits. So does Denver. Any team looking for a $17 million expiring who might give you 15-20 minutes a night in the postseason should be interested.
What Dallas is looking for in return
Do not expect the Mavericks to get much. Thompson’s value is what it is: a name, a shooter, an expiring contract. Dallas is more focused on shedding the cap hit and opening a roster spot than they are on acquiring a specific player back.
Any trade that clears the money and returns even a second-round pick is a win for Dallas at this point. The Mavericks need to be under the tax and clean out the logjam, not stockpile assets. This is a functional trade, not a splash.
What comes next
Training camp is close. The Mavericks have to have this resolved before the season starts, one way or another. If a trade cannot be worked out in the next few weeks, Dallas will likely have to consider a buyout, which they have publicly said they are trying to avoid. Buyouts cost the team money and set the player free to sign with a contender for essentially nothing.
A trade is the cleaner move. Even a bad trade is better than eating Thompson’s contract in full and getting nothing back. That is why the Mavs are motivated, and that is why this gets done in some form.
Klay Thompson deserves a graceful exit from Dallas. Whether the Mavericks can find him one is the question of the next two weeks. My money is on a trade to a contender before opening night. The market for a veteran shooter always exists this time of year, even if the return is minimal.
Where does he end up? Watch Miami. And keep a close eye on the Warriors.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
