The Mavericks have already done a lot of reshaping this offseason, but the work still isn’t finished. Dallas brought in a new general manager, a president of basketball operations and a head coach, then kept moving with multiple trades and four players in the 2026 NBA Draft. Even with all that turnover, the roster still has two obvious pieces that should be moved before the summer runs out: Daniel Gafford and Klay Thompson.
Thompson is the cleaner call. Dallas signed him to a three-year deal in the summer of 2024, and while his production has still been solid - 12.9 points per game with 38.7 percent shooting from three over his two seasons with the Mavericks - the context around him has changed completely.
He came to Dallas to play alongside Luka Doncic and chase a fifth NBA championship. That plan disappeared when Doncic was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in the middle of Thompson’s first season with the team, and the Mavericks are not in position to chase a title right now.
Masai Ujiri has already said the Mavericks are not going to skip steps as they build toward a future centered around Cooper Flagg, and that makes Thompson a natural trade candidate. He’ll turn 37 in the middle of next season, and his fit is far better on a playoff team than on a club that’s building around a teenager.
Dallas has been shopping him all offseason, and the Miami Heat have shown strong interest. The Mavericks also haven’t shown any interest in a buyout, which makes it clear they’re still pushing for a trade before training camp.
A deal would serve both sides: Thompson gets a shot at contention, and Dallas opens up more minutes for younger players.
Gafford is a different case because he’s only 27, but he still looks like the odd man out in Dallas. The Mavericks have a crowded frontcourt and need to sort it out, and moving Gafford is the easiest way to clear the logjam. That would let Dereck Lively II stay in the starting role while creating more developmental time for Moussa Cisse and Morez Johnson Jr.
Dallas has been open to moving Gafford for multiple years, and this summer has been no different. He’s still a productive backup big, coming off averages of 9.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game last season, but the Mavericks have added more bodies to the center mix.
They re-signed Cisse, drafted Johnson Jr. and also traded for Santi Aldama, who has real stretch-five potential. With that much traffic in the middle, the front office can’t go into next season without clearing minutes.
The roster math also says a move is coming. Dallas currently has 16 players on standard contracts, and the limit is 15.
A Gafford trade for draft capital - likely a first-round pick - would be the cleanest solution, while a Thompson deal would ideally bring back a younger player in a one-for-one swap. However it gets done, the Mavericks still need those two trades to finish off a summer that already changed the look of the team.
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What makes the situation more notable is the tone coming from Thompsons side, where the messages have sounded at least somewhat open-ended rather than defensive. No trade has been completed and the Mavericks have not said how they view his future, which leaves this as one of those slow-burn summer questions that can linger for a while before anything actually happens. [Read more 🡒]
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The speculation has a familiar pull because of the family connection, too, with his father, Mychal Thompson, publicly voicing support for Klay to end up with the Lakers. Add in reported interest from Los Angeles and Miami, and Dallas is left weighing a situation that could become one of its more delicate roster questions as the season unfolds. [Read more 🡒]