Why Mavericks Didn't Trade Klay Thompson to Miami Heat Before Buyout

The Dallas Mavericks and Klay Thompson reached a buyout agreement a week ago, allowing the 36-year-old to enter free agency a year early.

Thompson gave up $9.8 million that he was owed from the Mavs to sign with the Miami Heat, which should give him a much better chance at competing for a postseason run. The Mavericks missed the playoffs both years that Thompson was there, in large part due to the disastrous trading of Luka Doncic.

It was reported for the longest time that the Mavericks would've preferred to trade Thompson, and the Miami Heat were the favorite the entire time, but no trade between the two sides was ever reached.

While there was a nearly perfect salary match with Heat forward Nikola Jovic, it appears the Mavericks weren't interested in him whatsoever.

Mar 27, 2026; Portland, Oregon, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (31) looks on during the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"The Heat weren't able to furnish Dallas with the additional assets that the Mavericks would've wanted in order to take on Nikola Jovic's deal... That, I think, is generally viewed around the league as a negative asset at this juncture for Jovic," Jake Fischer said on a recent Bleacher Report stream.

As we speculated a few times, the Mavericks receiving Jovic back in a trade made no sense. He's set to enter the first season of a four-year, $62 million contract, but he's coming off a season where he averaged just 7.3 PPG in 47 games. That is far too much money for a player who can't stay on the floor and isn't even productive when he's there.

The Mavericks also faced the dilemma of having too many roster spots as it was. Waiving Thompson brought them down to 15 standard contracts, so getting Jovic back in a trade would've kept them at 16.

They could've made it a complicated trade and re-routed Jovic to a third team, but that would've taken ever more assets that neither the Mavs or Heat really have.

Jan 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic (5) against the Phoenix Suns at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Buying Out Klay Thompson Was Always the Simplest Solution

As much as the Mavericks said they wanted to trade Thompson, the teams interested in adding him were always going to have a difficult time doing so.

Buying Klay Thompson out just lets both sides have a clean slate.

The Mavericks do need to add more assets, and they have plenty of ways to do so, even if it's trading Kyrie Irving or Daniel Gafford at the trade deadline. They were never going to get valuable assets for trading a 36-year-old Klay Thompson.

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