The Los Angeles Lakers’ Klay Thompson watch got another update, and for now, the Dallas Mavericks are staying put.
The big question has never really been whether there’s interest. It’s been whether Dallas would actually let Thompson get away. And according to the latest reporting, the Mavericks still aren’t working toward a buyout, which keeps him on their roster for the moment.
That stance makes Dallas the team forcing everyone else to wait. The Lakers may be lurking, but they’re not the only ones. Thompson has drawn interest beyond Los Angeles, and the Mavericks appear to believe there’s enough of a market that moving him could still be handled through a trade rather than a buyout.
“To this point, Dallas has not been looking to find a buyout agreement with Klay Thompson. He’s got one year left on a three-year, $51 million deal that he signed two seasons ago when he left the Golden State Warriors, the franchise he won four championships with, of course…Klay Thompson very nearly chose the Los Angeles Lakers with then LeBron James over joining Dallas originally to pair with Luka Doncic and where’s Luka Doncic right now?
Of course, with the Lakers. There’s plenty of connective tissue there that makes sense here.
“The only thing is, the Mavericks have been very resistant, to my understanding, of actually moving forward and agreeing to a buyout with Klay Thompson. They believe this market that’s shaping up for him, the fact that there is some LA interest, the fact that there is Miami interest. There’s probably other places that have interest in Klay Thompson as well,” Jake Fischer said, H/T SB Nation.
Miami is another name to watch if Thompson ever becomes available, though it’s still unclear whether the Heat would actually part with anything to get him.
From a basketball fit standpoint, the Lakers make plenty of sense. Thompson’s shooting still plays anywhere, and with Luka Doncic creating clean looks, he’d have a chance to thrive in a way few players can.
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