Heat Have ‘Strong Interest’ In Mavericks’ Klay Thompson

According to Jackson and Chiang, Miami is interesting in adding Thompson to its roster irrespective of whether or not LeBron James decides to return for a second stint with the Heat.

As Jackson and Chiang detail, the Heat are looking to add another wing shooter and scorer with size after trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Listed at 6’5″ and 220 pounds, Thompson is one of the most prolific — and accurate — three-point shooters in NBA history, ranking fourth on the all-time made threes list.

The 36-year-old appeared in 69 games last season for Dallas, averaging career lows of 11.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 21.7 minutes per contest. While the four-time champion’s three-point percentage (.383%) was well above the league average (.360%), it represented a career low for Thompson, who also posted career-worst marks on twos (.418%) and from the field (.393%).

Thompson ending up in Miami is far from a fait accompli, per Jackson and Chiang. The former lottery pick (11th overall in 2011) is owed about $17.5MM next season on an expiring deal, and unless he’s willing to give up some of that money in buyout with the Mavs, the Heat may not be able to acquire him.

Marc Stein reported about a month ago that Dallas was open to trading Thompson and reiterated last week that the team would rather deal him than work out a buyout, according to The Miami Herald.

“To this point as much has been relayed to me is the Mavs’ preference would be a trade,” Stein said. “I think it’s still early enough in the summer that if you’re the Mavs you would exhaust those options first.”

While sending Nikola Jovic to Dallas for Thompson would satisfy salary-matching requirements, the Mavs probably aren’t eager to take on the $62.4MM the Serbian forward is owed over the next four years, Jackson and Chiang note, especially since he’s coming off a down season.

Here are a few more Heat-related rumors from Jackson and Chiang:

• Although the Heat had a “preliminary discussion” with Bradley Beal‘s agent, they haven’t been actively trying to sign the veteran guard, according to Jackson and Chiang. Beal, who was limited to just six games played in 2025/26 due to a hip injury, remains an unrestricted free agent after declining his $5.6MM player option at the end of June.
• Jackson and Chiang suggest multiple teams pursuing James view DeMar DeRozan as a potential plan B, and write that if the 41-year-old joins another team, there’s a “real possibility” the Heat could sign DeRozan, a six-time All-Star who was recently waived by Sacramento.
• Following up on a report from Stefan Bondy of The New York Post indicating Russell Westbrook is a candidate to sign with the Heat if they miss out on LeBron, Jackson and Chiang say that can’t be ruled out, but add that Miami hasn’t been “aggressively pursuing” the nine-time All-Star point guard.