Klay Thompson agreed to a contract buyout with the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, ending a rocky two-year tenure that never came close to a playoff run.
The four-time champion is expected to sign with the Miami Heat once he clears waivers, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
That move would hand Giannis Antetokounmpo a knockdown shooter just weeks into Miami’s post-blockbuster rebuild.
Mavericks Buyout Terms Are Confirmed
Dallas and Thompson agreed to void the final year of his deal, worth $17.5 million, with Mavericks president Masai Ujiri announcing the buyout Friday.
Thompson still has to clear the standard 48-hour NBA waivers process before signing anywhere else.
If unclaimed, ESPN reported he intends to join Miami on a two-year, $13 million contract that includes a player option in year two.
The Los Angeles Lakers also pursued Thompson given his Southern California roots, but Miami emerged as his preferred landing spot.
That preference reportedly formed within minutes of the buyout going public, a sign this was never much of a real sweepstakes.
A Dallas Tenure Wrecked by the Doncic Trade
Thompson arrived in Dallas via sign-and-trade from Golden State in 2024, joining Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in a setup built to win now.
The Mavericks then stunned the league by shipping Doncic to the Lakers before the 2025 deadline, a decision that gutted the roster’s ceiling.
Irving tore his ACL a month later and hasn’t played since, and Dallas missed the playoffs in both of Thompson’s two seasons.
Over that stretch he averaged 12.9 points on 40.3/38.7/85.1 shooting splits, according to CBS Sports.
The buyout closes the book on a partnership that was supposed to chase a title and instead watched the front office get overhauled around it, part of a broader pattern of stalled veteran roster moves across the league this summer.
Ujiri’s Statement on the Split
“Klay is one of the great players and competitors of this generation, and we are grateful for everything he brought to the Mavericks organization. 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.”
Masai Ujiri said that in a statement Friday, and the tone reflects a front office prioritizing Cooper Flagg’s timeline over a 36-year-old bench piece.
Why the Heat Fit Makes Sense
Miami’s perimeter shooting became a glaring weakness after the roster overhaul that followed the Antetokounmpo trade, and Thompson is an obvious patch for that hole.
Antetokounmpo commands enough defensive attention that a shooter of Thompson’s caliber should find space in the corners most nights.
Pairing him with Tim Hardaway Jr. gives coach Erik Spoelstra two credible outside threats to punish teams that collapse on Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo.
At 36, Thompson isn’t walking into a starting job, but a rotation role on a defense-heavy roster could mask the parts of his game that have slipped.
That kind of late-summer reinforcement mirrors other Eastern roster churn this offseason, including the Cavaliers’ recent shakeup involving Peyton Watson.
Thompson’s Shooting Résumé by the Numbers
| Metric | Mavericks (2 Seasons) | Career |
| Points Per Game | 12.9 | 19.6 |
| 3-Point Percentage | 38.7% | 40.9% |
| Career 3-Pointers Made | 2,899 (4th all-time) | Trails Curry, Harden, Allen |
Those career splits, confirmed by USA Today, explain why a contender would gamble on a 36-year-old wing even with clear defensive limitations.
Waivers Window and Miami’s Timeline
Thompson must clear the standard waivers process before any deal becomes official, with the window closing as early as Sunday, according to the Associated Press.
If no team claims his $17.5 million salary, he becomes an unrestricted free agent and can sign with Miami right away.
The Heat’s projected bench already lists Thompson alongside Pelle Larsson and Simone Fontecchio, positioning him for immediate minutes if the move gets finalized.
Bettors tracking Miami’s title odds should watch that waivers deadline closely before pricing in any spacing upgrade.
For the latest on Klay Thompson and the Heat’s roster moves, keep it locked to Sportscasting.
