The Dallas Mavericks are trying to move Klay Thompson. That much is now clear.
Multiple reports have surfaced this week indicating that Dallas is actively working the trade market for the four-time NBA champion, with the Miami Heat emerging as the most interested destination. What is less clear is how a deal actually gets done.
Thompson has one year left on the 3-year contract he signed with Dallas in 2024. He is set to earn $17.5 million in 2026-27. That is a movable number in a vacuum. What is not movable, at least so far, is the gap between what Thompson can still do on the floor and what a contending team wants from a role player.
At 36, Thompson is a specialist. He is a still-elite shooter when he gets his feet set. He is not a defender you can hide anymore. He needs the ball to come to him in specific spots to be his best version. That is a fine third or fourth option on the right roster. It is a difficult fit on a Dallas team trying to build around Cooper Flagg and Anthony Davis.
Miami’s interest is real, and there is reported mutual interest from Thompson’s side as well. The problem is the structure. The Heat would prefer to acquire him via buyout rather than trade, which lets them add him without giving up assets. The Mavericks have no interest in a buyout unless Thompson takes a major pay cut. Both sides are digging in.
The Mavericks’ leverage is fairly straightforward. They are well below the luxury tax line and can afford to let Thompson play out the season if a trade partner does not step forward with the right offer. There is no cap pressure forcing their hand.
Miami’s leverage is that they have run this play before. Erik Spoelstra has a long track record of turning veteran shooters into productive playoff pieces, and Thompson would slot into the same kind of role that has worked in South Beach for guys like Ray Allen and Kyle Lowry.
There are third-team options being floated. A three-team deal that lands Thompson in Miami, sends a rotation piece back to Dallas, and moves salary through a middle team is the most likely path if a straight trade cannot get done. The trick is finding the right third team.
The clock is not tight yet. The Mavericks and Heat can dance on this until closer to the season starts without either side losing meaningful leverage. But it is going to come to a head. Thompson is not going to spend the year in Dallas being uncomfortable when there is a fit somewhere else, and the Mavericks are not going to keep a player who is publicly known to want out.
Expect a resolution by the end of August. Miami is the most logical destination. The only question is whether the Mavericks get a useful piece back or eventually eat the buyout and let him walk. My money is on some version of a three-team trade.
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.
