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My understanding is that Thompson would welcome a return to Los Angeles, where he spent part of his childhood and still owns a home. The Miami Heat are another team frequently mentioned in NBA circles as a potential landing spot for the future Hall of Famer.
At this point, it remains unclear if Klay Thompson — the Mavericks’ leading 3-point shooter in each of the past two seasons — will be back in Dallas for a third year. The Mavericks have explored his trade market but have yet to find a deal, multiple sources with rival teams told The Athletic on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss any potential negotiations. Thompson is owed $17.5 million this season and is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2027.
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James Ham: "Scott Perry was willing to work with Zach LaVine and his representation to find him a new home before he opted into his contract at the end of June. They were more than willing to work on a sign-and-trade with Zach LaVine, and if he could find a home that even paid him less money but a longer-term contract, the Kings were all on board to try and do that."
Klay Thompson: This would require either a trade or a buyout, with Thompson under contract this season to the Dallas Mavericks at $17.5 million. “He’s not the defender he used to be. He can’t create his own shot, but he can still make shots,” the scout said of the 36-year-old who has dealt with an Achilles tear and ACL tear since his Warriors-championship prime. “I mean, on a given night, he’ll get you 17 points, maybe. I don’t think it’s going to be as regular, but I don’t think you should have high expectations. But he’s not through completely. You don’t stick a fork in him yet.” The scout estimated that on the open market Thompson likely would be a minimum-scale player, “maybe $5 million.”
Rick Carlisle: ‘In 2011, it was either now or never. The team was aging. The veterans were still at in a part of their prime. Jason Terry was still great, Dirk was great, Jason Kidd was 37 and he was still playing at a very high level. He almost won the MVP a few years earlier with the Nets. I mean, the Nets were an autumn feeder and the Jason Kidd got traded to New Jersey and they had them in the finals twice, you know, so that he still could have that kind of impact. We traded for Tyson Chandler who gave us a defensive guy similar to yourself, very energetic, very vocal, very positive, very upbeat, totally only into winning, and Shawn Marion was a very underrated player. You can make a case that Shawn Marion could be in a conversation for Hall of Fame on a many multiple year, all-star type thing, championship player, great two-way player. He had an unconventional game, but he was an original in his purest form. It was clear to us heading into that final series that we had to have a very simple plan and a big part of it was going to have to be persistence.’
Anthony Chiang: The Heat has strong interest in veteran guard Klay Thompson. The issue is he’s still under contract with the Mavericks, as he’s due $17.5 million in the final year of his contract. It appears that the Heat will remain patient in filling out the rest of its roster to give Thompson time to possibly shake free through a buyout agreement. While a trade for Thompson is also possible, it would be challenging to pull off considering the only three players on the Heat’s current roster able to be traded for Thompson in a one-for-one deal are Nikola Jovic, Davion Mitchell and Bobby Portis. The cleaner path is for the Mavericks to eventually agree to a buyout with Thompson, with Thompson hypothetically giving up $7 million of his current salary to become a free agent. The Heat can then make up the difference on the money Thompson gave up by using the rest of its midlevel exception to offer him a $7 million salary for this upcoming season.
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Amid active sign-and-trade interest from the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers, along with the possibility of re-signing with the Atlanta Hawks, another suitor has expressed interest in free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga. After missing out on their pursuit of LeBron James, the Minnesota Timberwolves have also expressed interest in Kuminga with their starting power forward spot up for grabs and their $6.06 million taxpayer mid-level exception available for the taking, league sources told HoopsHype.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers have recently called to express interest in a sign-and-trade for Denver Nuggets restricted free-agent forward Peyton Watson, league sources told HoopsHype. The newfound interest in Watson comes on the heels of Cleveland also being in the mix for free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga in sign-and-trade discussions. More on both forwards to come in separate sections below.
The Denver Nuggets remain interested in retaining restricted free agent forward Peyton Watson amid sign-and-trade interest from the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, and Los Angeles Clippers. Denver’s price tag in any sign-and-trade scenario has shifted to at least one first-round pick and one notable player, per multiple reports, and confirmed by HoopsHype.
While the Bucks haven’t offered a first-round pick yet, they’d consider absorbing Nuggets forward Zeke Nnaji as part of a Watson sign-and-trade, HoopsHype has learned. Nnaji is owed a combined $14.93 million with two seasons remaining on his contract, including a player option for the 2027-28 season.
