PJ Tucker didn’t hesitate when asked about the Miami Heat bringing in Klay Thompson. The former Heat forward said the move makes sense because the team needs exactly what Thompson has made a living providing: shooting.
In an episode of Uninterrupted Weekley, Tucker pointed to the fit with Miami’s star power and gave the signing his stamp of approval.
“They need shooting,” he said. “He’s a shooter.
You got to load up on Giannis. [The Heat have] a good starting five.”
Tucker knows the Heat well from his lone season in South Florida, when he suited up for Miami in 2021-22 and turned in one of the better statistical years of his 14-year NBA career. He played in 71 games, starting 70 of them, and averaged 7.6 points on 48.4 percent shooting, 5.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists. That run ended with Miami reaching the Eastern Conference Finals before falling to the Boston Celtics in seven games.
Even though it lasted only one season, Tucker became a quick favorite with the fan base. His game matched the Heat identity: effort, toughness and defense. After that year, he moved on and signed a three-year, $33 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Tucker’s final season in the league came in 2024-25 with the New York Knicks. He appeared in just three games and spent most of that time as a veteran voice in the locker room.
New York made it to the Eastern Conference Finals, but the Indiana Pacers knocked them out in six games. The next season, the franchise went on to win its third NBA title and snap a 53-year drought.
Tucker won’t get a ring from that run, but he still finished his career on a high note. His path also gives him a useful lens on Thompson, who is arriving in Miami later in his career. Tucker was 36 when he joined the Heat, and Thompson will turn 37 years old in the 2026-27 season.
For Miami, the appeal is pretty straightforward. Thompson has built a 15-year career around elite perimeter shooting, and that skill should play cleanly next to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. He’s a career 40.9 percent shooter from deep and sits fourth on the NBA’s all-time three-pointers made list with 2,899 and counting, just 75 behind Hall of Famer and two-time NBA Champion Ray Allen.
The Heat are already being mentioned among the early favorites in the Eastern Conference, and they’ll have 31 national TV games to show why. Thompson is projected to start, but the real work begins in training camp, which is coming up soon.
In Other News...
Kyrie Irving Still Looms Over A Heat Roster Question Mavericks Fans Know
Even with the roster mostly set, Miami still has a familiar kind of front-office question hanging over it: how much room is there, really, to make a meaningful move? Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports the Heat are unlikely to land Kyrie Irving or Jrue Holiday because of salary and trade constraints, which leaves the team working with limited flexibility as it tries to sort out the last open spot.
The options are more modest from here, whether that means filling the 15th roster spot with a veteran minimum addition or simply keeping it open for later. Ira Winderman also noted that Pelle Larsson could be a candidate for an early extension, a sign Miami may be thinking less about a splash and more about protecting its own future before free agency complicates the picture. [Read more 🡒]
Heat Could Finally Get Another Shot At A Draft Target
The roster trim in Memphis could open a door Miami has been watching for a while. Walter Clayton Jr., whom the Heat were reportedly interested in during the 2025 draft, is expected to be waived as the Grizzlies work their training camp roster down to 15 players, putting a familiar name back on the market for a team that already had him on its radar.
Claytons path has moved quickly since his rookie season, when he averaged 7.8 points and four assists after being traded mid-season from Utah to Memphis. If he does become available, the Heat will at least have a realistic chance to revisit a player they considered before, even if the next step depends on whether another team jumps in first. [Read more 🡒]
Heat Still Have One Big Bench Decision Left Around Davion Mitchell
The Heat have spent the summer sorting through the last piece of their roster, and the focus has landed on the backcourt. With Ben Simmons off the board after signing with Sacramento, Miami is still weighing what kind of guard best fits the final opening, while Davion Mitchell remains part of the larger conversation about how the bench should be shaped.
Gabe Vincent has come up as a familiar name, and Cam Payne is also viewed as a possible option for adding experience and leadership in reserve minutes. Even with those possibilities in play, Miami is still taking its time on the decision, and the way it fills that spot should tell plenty about how the team wants to stabilize its guard rotation for the season ahead. [Read more 🡒]