Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson is acknowledged by fans during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls at American Airlines Center on Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
It wasn’t supposed to end this way.
Klay Thompson joined the Dallas Mavericks two summers ago with the intention of winning a rare fifth championship with a cast of characters highlighted by Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (31), second from left, sits with his teammates during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics at American Airlines Center, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Dallas.
Chitose Suzuki/Staff Photographer
Instead, Thompson’s brief tenure with the Mavericks was marred by the most shocking trade in NBA history, teamwide injury misfortune, two seasons without a playoff appearance and the anticlimactic buyout agreement the team announced Friday. The Miami Heat are expected to sign Thompson to a two-year contract worth nearly $13 million once he clears waivers, according to an ESPN report.
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Thompson appeared in 141 games (80 starts) in his two seasons with Dallas and averaged 12.9 points on 40.3% shooting from the field and 38.7% from three. He was set to make $17.5 million in 2026-27, the final season of a three-year deal.
“Klay is one of the great players and competitors of his generation, and we are grateful for everything he brought to the Mavericks organization,” Mavericks president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri said in a prepared statement.
“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.”
Thompson’s buyout allows the Mavericks to enter next month’s training camp with 15 players on standard contracts, fulfilling the league maximum for teams to carry into the regular season. The timing of the decision is logical because of Thompson’s desire to compete for a championship, allowing him to join a contender before training camps begin next month and removing any potential public distraction as the Mavericks enter a new era under Ujiri, general manager Mike Schmitz and new coach Dusty May.
The Mavericks also continue their recent trend of moving toward a younger roster after releasing the 36-year-old Thompson. Irving [34] and Caleb Martin [31] are the only players left remaining who are 30 or older.
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Schmitz made an appearance on Sportsradio 96.7 FM/1310 The Ticket (KTCK-AM) after Thompson’s buyout was announced. He said he was “thankful” for what Thompson brought to the Mavericks in his stint with the team. Schmitz didn’t offer too many details when asked if the Mavericks wanted to give Thompson a chance to pick his next team.
“I don’t want to get into too much of the nitty-gritty with internal conversations and all that. I think, more than anything, like I said, [we’re] thankful for everything Klay has given to the team, the organization, the city,” Schmitz said. “I wish him the best moving forward in the rest of the season.”
After an offseason full of turnover, Naji Marshall posted, “Life moves fast sighhhhhhh,” on X, referring to the latest transaction by the team which signed him to a three-year, $52.2 million extension this month.
Life moves fast sighhhhhhh…..
— Naji Marshall (@marshall_naji8) August 21, 2026
The Mavericks acquired Thompson from the Golden State Warriors in a blockbuster six-team trade during the summer of 2024, less than one month removed from their first NBA Finals appearance in 13 years. He was an unrestricted free agent at the time, but the teams negotiated a sign-and-trade, making Thompson the most decorated offseason addition in franchise history.
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Former Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison infamously said the team was “a Klay away” from winning a championship after his addition, but Harrison made a drastic pivot by trading Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis in February 2025. One month later, Irving suffered a torn ACL that sidelined him for the rest of that season and the 2025-26 campaign.
Upon Harrison’s abrupt firing and Davis being dealt to the Washington Wizards, the Mavericks entered a rebuild centered around 19-year-old Cooper Flagg. When former coach Jason Kidd asked Thompson to come off the bench, he embraced the role with a career-high 61 games as a reserve.
Despite the tumultuous and unpredictable circumstances, Thompson remained a consummate professional. The veteran sharpshooter achieved several milestones, including eclipsing Damian Lillard for fourth place on the NBA’s all-time 3-pointers list last season after passing his childhood idol Reggie Miller in his first year in Dallas.
Thompson is one of only five players to connect on at least 2,800 triples in his career, sitting at 2,899. He made at least 200 threes in both of his seasons in Dallas. He and his former teammate Stephen Curry are the only players in NBA history to record at least 10 seasons with 200 3-pointers.
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Thompson’s future in Dallas had been uncertain since a news conference at the end of the season, when he was asked if he anticipates being back with the Mavericks.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “I’m under contract so I do, but I’ve definitely learned in my time in Dallas that things can change on a dime.”