Dallas Mavericks And Klay Thompson Reach Buyout Agreement

DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks and Klay Thompson reached a buyout agreement Friday. The team did not disclose the financial terms. Thompson was owed $17.5 million this coming season, the final year of his contract.

He is expected to sign with the Miami Heat once he clears waivers, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Friday.

Thompson wanted to play for a contender. He did not see the Mavericks, who won 26 games last season, as one, sources told Dallas Sports Journal.

“I want to be in a situation where I can compete [for a title] and play a role on a team that can make a deep playoff run,” Thompson said during a Twitch stream with PlaqueBoyMax on Aug. 14.

Dallas acquired Thompson from Golden State on July 6, 2024, in a six-team trade. He signed for three years and $50 million.

Mavericks president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri acknowledged that the organization appreciates Thompson’s entire career achievements, not solely his two seasons with Dallas.

“Klay is one of the great players and competitors of his generation, and we are grateful for everything he brought to the Mavericks organization,” Ujiri said. “We have tremendous respect for Klay and all that he has accomplished throughout his career, and we wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”

Why The Dallas Mavericks Needed The Roster Spot

Dallas had 16 players on standard NBA contracts. The league limit drops to 15 on Oct. 19, and the buyout reduces the Mavericks to that number.

Cooper Flagg started all 70 games he played as a rookie and averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. Max Christie started 68 times in 77 appearances and shot 40.4% from 3-point range on 5.8 attempts a game. Naji Marshall signed a three-year, $52.2 million extension on Aug. 2 that runs through 2029-30, and he started 47 games last season. P.J. Washington started 53 of the 56 games he played and is signed through 2029-30 as well. Thompson started 8 games, a career low.

Zaccharie Risacher arrived in a three-team trade on July 19. Santi Aldama and Marcus Sasser came in a separate six-team deal that also sent Dallas the draft rights to Tarik Biberović, who signed in July after three seasons in Istanbul.

Why It Became A Buyout And Not A Trade

Sources told Dallas Sports Journal that a buyout was expected because a sufficient trade market for Thompson never developed. A trade would have needed Miami to send matching salary, but the Heat lacked appropriate contracts for Dallas to take back.

With a lack of traction in the broader trade market, the Heat waited for Thompson to become a free agent.

A trade would also have sent Thompson’s Bird rights to his new team to be used for a future contract next summer. Instead, he clears waivers, so Miami signs him with cap-exception money.

Miami traded for Giannis Antetokounmpo earlier this offseason. The Heat held back part of the midlevel exception. Bradley Beal re-signed with the Los Angeles Clippers this month.

What Klay Thompson Leaves Dallas With

Thompson played 141 games over two seasons with the Mavericks, making 80 starts. In Dallas, he averaged 12.9 points per game, shooting 40.3% from the field and 38.7% from three-point range.

Last season he came off the bench for 61 of his 69 appearances. He averaged 11.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 21.7 minutes. His 39.3% from the field and 38.3% from 3-point range were career lows. Of the 202 3-pointers he made, 188 came as a reserve.

He signed in Dallas after the Mavericks reached the 2024 NBA Finals with Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving. Dallas traded Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in February 2025. Anthony Davis played 20 games for the Mavericks.

Thompson surpassed Damian Lillard on January 15, 2026, moving into fourth place on the NBA’s all-time 3-point list. He now has 2,899 career 3-pointers, while Lillard has 2,804. Ray Allen ranks third with 2,973, Stephen Curry leads with 4,248, and James Harden has 3,390.

Thompson made at least 200 three-pointers in each of his two seasons with Dallas and has achieved this feat in 11 seasons overall. The only other player to reach 10 or more seasons like this is Curry. Thompson also owns the single-game record, making 14 three-pointers and scoring 52 points against Chicago on October 29, 2018.

Last season, Dallas finished 12th in the Western Conference and missed the playoffs for the second straight year. The Mavericks had the 27th-ranked offensive rating out of 30 teams. Training camp starts on September 22. Dallas is among six teams starting early, each playing preseason games outside North America.

The regular season kicks off on October 21 against the Houston Rockets, with tip-off at 7:30 p.m. CT in Houston.