The Mavericks are shopping Klay Thompson. That much is clear from Marc Stein’s reporting this week, even as Dallas publicly insists no buyout conversations are happening.
Klay is 36, owed $17.5 million on the last year of his deal, and coming off a Dallas tenure that has not gone the way anyone imagined when he arrived via sign-and-trade from Golden State. The shooting has been streaky. The defense has slipped. And with the Mavericks trying to build around Cooper Flagg and a retooled roster, Klay’s minutes are a math problem.
Nico Harrison’s front office would prefer a trade over a buyout for a simple reason: they want something back. Dallas sits about $2.3 million under the tax line, so there is no financial pressure to cut Klay loose for free. If they let him walk, the Lakers grab him for the veteran minimum and Dallas gets nothing.
Which is exactly why the Mavs are digging in. Silver Screen and Roll reported that Dallas is resisting a buyout specifically because they know Los Angeles is circling. Klay owns a home in LA, spent part of his childhood there, and the fit next to Luka Doncic on a team that desperately needs shooting is obvious. That is leverage the Mavericks are not willing to hand over for free.
The Heat are the other serious suitor. Miami wants another shooter to pair with Bam Adebayo and Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Klay’s catch-and-shoot game still translates. A trade sending a rotation piece plus a second-rounder to Dallas gets the deal done, but Miami has been notoriously stingy about parting with even minor assets in the Pat Riley era.
Klay’s shooting numbers dipped last season but he still hit north of 38 percent from three, which in this league remains a valuable skill even in a limited role. The question is whether a contender wants that skill badly enough to pay Dallas anything of substance.
If nothing materializes before training camp, expect the buyout drumbeat to grow louder. Klay is not going to grind through another season as a scapegoat in Dallas, and the Mavericks will not force it if the alternative is dead weight on the roster. But Nico Harrison holds the cards for now.
The smart bet: Dallas finds a taker by mid-October. A Miami or Sacramento offer that includes any real asset probably gets it done. If not, Klay ends up on the Lakers by Thanksgiving anyway. The Mavericks just would rather cash a check on the way out.
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.
