The Miami Heat have spent their offseason waiting on one name, and that patience is starting to shape everything else around them: Klay Thompson.
According to Miami Herald reporter Barry Jackson, a Thompson-to-Heat move is “essentially a done deal” once Dallas works out a buyout. Jackson said Miami has passed on other routes to keep its bi-annual exception available for Thompson, choosing him over both Bradley Beal and DeMar DeRozan.
That gamble has already cost the Heat chances elsewhere. Beal was discussed as a fit with Miami’s camp, but the team only put a veteran-minimum offer on the table to preserve exception money.
Beal passed and went back to the Los Angeles Clippers on a two-year, $13.2 million deal. DeRozan also wanted Miami and was after the team’s $5.5 million bi-annual exception, but the front office would not commit those funds with Thompson still in the picture.
Thompson is in the final year of a three-year, $50 million deal and is set to make $17.46 million this season. His numbers dipped last year to 11.7 points per game while shooting 38.3% from three, a step down from his usual standards.
Dallas would rather move on before the contract runs out and has preferred a trade over a buyout. Team president Masai Ujiri has remained in direct contact with Thompson about what comes next.
Still, the Mavericks are up against a hard roster deadline, since they need to trim to 15 players before the regular season starts. That could leave a buyout as the path that gets this done.
Heat insider Ethan Skolnick said he expects Miami to land Thompson without giving up anything in return. “I believe that the Heat will end up with Klay Thompson and I don't believe they will have to trade anything for him,” Skolnick said, per Heavy.
If the buyout does happen, Thompson would slide in as the kind of perimeter shooter Miami has been chasing to pair with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. For now, the Heat are still waiting, but the sense around this situation is only getting stronger by the day.
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The biggest remaining question is how much farther the front office can go in turning that talent into a finished contender. Klay Thompson is reportedly working through a buyout with the Dallas Mavericks and is expected to land in Miami, which would add another veteran scorer and a very different kind of floor-spacing threat to a roster already undergoing major change. What happens next could determine whether this summer is remembered as a strong setup or the point when the Heat finally push the project over the top. [Read more 🡒]
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Miamis offseason plan has started to tilt around a familiar kind of question for this front office: fit. With Klay Thompson expected to land in South Florida on a two-year deal after his buyout with the Dallas Mavericks, the Heat are looking at a lineup that adds more shooting and spacing, and that new shape appears to have influenced how theyve approached the rest of free agency.
DeMar DeRozan reportedly viewed that arrangement as part of the problem, since the Heats roster composition and Thompsons anticipated role at shooting guard made it hard to see where DeRozan would slot in cleanly. He ultimately chose Denver instead, leaving Miami with a clearer picture of what it wants, even if the ripple effects of that decision are still being sorted out. [Read more 🡒]
Heat Still Have One Important Roster Move Left
The Heat have been busy reshaping the roster, and the additions of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Klay Thompson have given Miami a far different look heading into the season. Even with those headline moves, there is still a practical question hanging over the group: how to shore up the bench after losing several players and keep the rotation from looking thin once the season gets rolling.
Miami still has two open roster spots, and one of them could be used before opening night to give the team a little more balance. Nick Richards would address size and interior depth, Bruce Brown Jr. would bring versatility and defensive help, and Ochai Agbaji offers another kind of wing option, leaving the Heat with a decision that could shape how sturdy the roster feels beyond the top names. [Read more 🡒]