Dallas is building for the future around Cooper Flagg, but Klay Thompson’s plans appear to be focused much closer to the present. The Mavericks are coming off a 26-56 season and have a new front office and coach in place.
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Thompson, meanwhile, is entering the final year of his contract after a season in which Dallas missed the playoffs entirely. With the four-time champion looking for another deep playoff run, the two sides are working on very different timelines.
“I want to compete for a championship, not necessarily win one, but just like have the chance to go and try and get another one,” Thompson said during a Twitch stream with PlaqueBoyMax.
“I want to play a role on a team that I want to make a deep playoff run, whether it’s this season or next season. But that’s really my only goal,” Thompson added.
Thompson’s comments do not amount to a trade request, and he did not say he wants to leave Dallas. But they do make his priorities clear as the Mavericks build around a 19-year-old Rookie of the Year.
Thompson averaged 11.7 points in 69 games last season while shooting 38.3% from three. His role was smaller than it had been during his years with Golden State, but he remained a reliable high-volume shooter and drew interest from teams looking for spacing.
Dallas went 26-56 last season and finished 12th in the Western Conference, missing both the playoffs and the play-in tournament. The Mavericks then hired Masai Ujiri as team president in May and Dusty May as head coach in June, with Flagg at the center of their long-term plans.
Flagg averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 70 games and won Rookie of the Year. That gives Dallas a young franchise centerpiece, but it also points to a much longer timeline than the one Thompson described.
Thompson had already left the door open to uncertainty about his future in Dallas earlier in the offseason. When asked whether he expected to be back, he said he was “not sure,” while adding that he is under contract and that “things can change on a dime.”
That puts Dallas in a tricky spot. Thompson has one year left on his contract at $17.46 million, and the Mavericks are treating that expiring deal as a trade asset rather than giving him a buyout.
Marc Stein, Jake Fischer and other NBA reporters have indicated that Dallas prefers a trade because it could turn Thompson’s contract into a draft pick, young player or another asset for the Flagg-centered rebuild.
Dallas is also not simply looking to dump Thompson’s salary. The Mavericks are below the tax line and have financial flexibility, making the return they can get for the expiring contract more important than simply clearing his money.
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The Miami Heat have shown the strongest interest in Thompson, with reporting from Barry Jackson, Shams Charania, Marc Stein and others linking the team to the veteran shooter. Miami wants more shooting around Bam Adebayo and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The problem is how to get the deal done. Miami has preserved roughly $8 million to $8.9 million of its midlevel exception in some reported scenarios and would prefer to sign Thompson through a buyout. Trade discussions have also involved Nikola Jovic as a possible salary match, but Dallas has little interest in taking on his longer-term contract, and talks have stalled.
Jake Fischer has reported that Dallas is “very resistant” to a buyout because of the trade interest around Thompson. Other reporting from Marc Stein and Brett Siegel has also indicated that the Mavericks want to exhaust trade options before considering a move that would leave them with nothing in return.
The Los Angeles Lakers have also been linked to Thompson. Christian Clark of The Athletic reported that Thompson would like to play in Los Angeles, where he grew up and still owns a home. His father, Mychal Thompson, also won two championships with the Lakers, but that connection is only background and is not evidence of an active Lakers pursuit.
Miami appears to have the clearest interest, but no deal is close. Other teams have been mentioned as possible landing spots, including Houston, though those links remain speculative.
For Dallas, the decision is less about whether Thompson can still help and more about what the Mavericks can get for him. Keeping him would give Flagg another proven shooter and veteran voice, but trading his expiring contract could give the Mavericks another piece for a rebuild that is clearly built to take time.
A buyout, meanwhile, would give Thompson the freedom to join a contender but leave Dallas with nothing in return. That is why the Mavericks have continued to look for a trade while Thompson waits to see where his championship window takes him.