The Dallas Mavericks announced on Friday that they had reached a buyout agreement with Klay Thompson, making the sharp-shooting wing a late addition to the free agent market.
Shortly after the announcement, ESPN reported that Thompson is expected to sign with the Miami Heat once he clears waivers, providing some much-needed shooting around Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo on the new-look Heat.
Thompson, 36, signed with the Mavericks in 2024 and played 141 games in Dallas, averaging 12.9 points on 40.3/38.7/85.1 shooting splits in two seasons. With Dallas pivoting toward a youth movement led by reigning Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg, the Mavericks had little need to keep Thompson on the roster for the 2026-27 season and opted to reach a buyout well before training camp began to give him the opportunity to sign with a contender.
"Klay is one of the great players and competitors of his generation, and we are grateful for everything he brought to the Mavericks organization," Mavericks president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri said in a statement. "We have tremendous respect for Klay and all that he has accomplished throughout his career, and we wish him nothing but the best moving forward."
Thompson clearly already had his preferred destination in mind when negotiating a buyout with the Mavs, with word he planned to join the Heat coming mere minutes after the news went public. While Thompson isn't the two-way force he was at his peak, his shooting acumen is something the Heat desperately need on their roster after trading Tyler Herro to Milwaukee and letting Norman Powell walk in free agency to bring in Antetokounmpo.
Miami faced hard cap restrictions in building out its roster around Antetokounmpo and Adebayo, and hoped to accelerate its timeline as a contender by signing LeBron James. Once James opted to join the Philadelphia 76ers, the Heat had to pivot to find veteran reinforcements for the roster and landed a four-time NBA champion in Thompson to bolster their pursuit of a fourth title in Miami.
Thompson will join Andrew Wiggins, Nikola Jovic, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dru Smith as Miami's wing rotation, providing coach Erik Spoelstra with another option for building lineups around their All-Star frontcourt.
Thompson's shooting efficiency has dipped a bit from his peak since returning from ACL and Achilles injuries, but in the five seasons since getting back on the court, he's still shot 39.3% from three on 8.8 attempts per game. Given how few shooters Miami has on its roster, Thompson figures to find a prominent role in the Heat's rotation as they look to climb back into the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference.
