Mavericks to add Klay Thompson in three-team sign-and-trade

After spending his first 13 NBA seasons with the Warriors, Klay Thompson is reportedly headed to Dallas. Thompson intends to sign a three-year, $50M contract with the Mavericks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

As Wojnarowski outlines, the plan is for the Mavs to acquire Thompson from Golden State in a three-team sign-and-trade, with swingman Josh Green heading from Dallas to the Hornets in the deal.

The Warriors and Mavericks are still working through the sign-and-trade details, according to reports from Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and Anthony Slater of The Athletic, who both say that the deal isn’t considered done from Golden State’s perspective.

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports tweets that there’s a framework in place for a deal sending Green to Charlotte, while Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer also hears that the Hornets are in agreement on their part of the deal.

As Marc Stein tweets, it sounds like Thompson, the Mavs and the Hornets are all on board, with just the Warriors left to sign off. Golden State doesn’t want to take back salary in the transaction, Stein adds.

Wojnarowski reports via Twitter that the Hornets will be sending Dallas a pair of second-round picks for Green and that one of those second-rounders may be rerouted to Golden State.

The 11th pick of the 2011 draft, Thompson is one of the most accomplished shooters in league history, ranking sixth all-time in three-pointers made. The 34-year-old, who has knocked down 41.3% of his attempts from long distance over the course of his career, made five All-Star teams and won four championships with the Warriors.

While Thompson has remained an extremely productive rotation player, averaging 17.9 points per game with a .387 3PT% in 77 games (29.7 MPG) this past season, he has lost a step since suffering a torn ACL in 2019 and a torn Achilles in 2020. He was removed from the starting lineup in Golden State this season and his relationship with the franchise appeared to fray leading up to the expiration of his contract, resulting in Saturday’s news that he intended to leave the Warriors for a new team.

Thompson reportedly intended to talk to the Lakers, Clippers and Sixers in addition to the Mavs when free agency opened on Sunday, with the Magic among the other teams said to have interest in the veteran sharpshooter. According to Wojnarowski, Thompson had four-years offers worth more overall money available, but the opportunity to win another championship and the difference in state taxes were among the factors that made him choose Dallas.

Thompson will give the Mavs another shooter on the wing alongside star guards Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. So far this offseason, the team has essentially swapped out three wings — Tim Hardaway, Derrick Jones and now Green — for three new ones: Thompson, Naji Marshall, and Quentin Grimes.

Assuming the deal is completed as reported, the Mavs’ team salary will be a few million above the tax line and about $3M below the first apron, which will be their hard cap, per cap experts Bobby Marks of ESPN and Yossi Gozlan. One minor detail that will need clarification is Wojnarowski’s assertion that Thompson’s contract will include a third-year player option — a contract completed via sign-and-trade must be for at least three seasons, excluding an option year, as Keith Smith of Spotrac observes via Twitter.

The Hornets were interested in Green back at the trade deadline when they worked out a separate deal with Dallas involving P.J. Washington, notes Fischer via Twitter. They’ll get their man now and — based on the details reported so far — figure to operate as an under-the-cap team in order to take the incoming salaries of both Green and Reggie Jackson, whom they’re acquiring in a trade with Denver.

The Warriors, meanwhile, will be in position to create a trade exception worth Thompson’s new salary if they don’t take back any contracts in the deal. With Thompson and Chris Paul off their books for 2024-25, the Dubs have some newfound financial flexibility and appear poised to use their full mid-level exception to sign free agent guard De’Anthony Melton.