The Miami Heat have spent this offseason loading up, and they’re not done yet. After swinging the trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo, the front office is still scanning the market for more pieces. LeBron James is the big fish they’re chasing, and if that happens, the roster could look completely different. But if LeBron goes elsewhere, Miami still needs to keep building.
One name that keeps popping up is Klay Thompson. The question is whether Dallas would even let him go.
According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, appearing on Bleacher Report Live, the Heat’s interest in Thompson is conditional. It only exists if Thompson gets bought out by the Mavericks. Fischer made it clear that trading for Thompson at his current salary is not something teams are lining up to do.
“This scenario would only be in the event that Dallas came to a buyout agreement for Klay Thompson, for he is in the final year of a three-year contract he signed,” Fischer said. “I think there would be a lot of teams in addition to Miami that would be interested in Klay Thompson if he were to find a buyout market, but I don’t think anyone is really so interested in trading for Klay Thompson at that salary number at this point in time.”
So for now, this is a wait-and-see situation. The Mavericks haven’t shown any real interest in moving on from Thompson, and Fischer added that he hasn’t heard any indication a buyout is coming. That could change, but it hasn’t yet.
Thompson put up 11.7 points per game last season in Dallas and shot 38.3 percent from three. That’s still a dangerous number from deep, and it’s easy to see why a team like Miami would want that kind of floor spacing around Antetokounmpo. With Giannis drawing double teams, a shooter like Thompson could find a lot of open looks.
But the money is the problem. Thompson is in the final year of a three-year deal he signed with the Mavericks, and his salary makes a trade complicated unless Dallas is willing to take on matching contracts. A buyout clears that up, and then Thompson gets to pick his next team. Miami would be in the mix, but so would plenty of others.
Right now, it looks like Thompson stays in Dallas. That’s not a bad spot either. The Mavericks are building around a young core, and Thompson’s veteran presence and shooting still have value. But the Heat are watching closely, and if the buyout door cracks open, expect them to be first in line.
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