The Miami Heat may not have landed Klay Thompson yet, but they just got the kind of update that keeps the door wide open.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Miami is still "at the front of the line" among the teams hoping to pull Thompson out of Dallas. The Mavericks, for their part, would prefer to trade him rather than buy him out. For now, though, nothing has been settled.
That uncertainty is exactly what keeps the Heat in play. Stein reported that "Miami continues to sit at the front of the line of teams hoping that Dallas buys out Klay Thompson.
Two sources briefed on the process said this week that it remains unclear how the situation will play out. Dallas currently has 16 standard contracts on its books - one more than the league maximum that will be allowed as of Oct. 19 - but Thompson's fate remained undecided as of Sunday."
So where does that leave Miami? In wait-and-see mode.
With training camp still more than a month away, patience looks like the most realistic approach. If Thompson has been the top target all along, as has been reported for weeks, there’s no reason for the Heat to abandon that chase now. They’ve already waited this long, and a few more weeks may not change much unless camp arrives and Thompson is still in Dallas.
If that happens, then a pivot could come later. But right now, the expectation is that Miami keeps holding its position.
That makes sense if the Heat believe Thompson can be the kind of addition that strengthens the group around Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. If that’s the read inside the building, then sticking with the plan is the obvious move.
And given how strong Miami’s offseason has already been, a path to Thompson would only make it look better. This latest development doesn’t guarantee anything, but it does give the Heat a reason to keep believing.
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