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Miami Heat are eying something different this summer. Klay Thompson 's expiring contract with the Dallas Mavericks has turned him into the most talked-about trade chip of the summer, and Miami has emerged as the team pushing hardest to land him. The four-time NBA champion is playing out the final season of the three-year, $50 million deal he signed in 2024, carrying a base salary of $17,460,317 for 2026-27 before he hits unrestricted free agency. Miami's interest comes on the heels of a summer that already includes a blockbuster trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo and an ongoing pursuit of LeBron James , giving the Heat both motivation and appetite to add another proven scorer.

Dallas reportedly prefers to move Thompson in a trade rather than release him, but a buyout is viewed as the more likely outcome. That dynamic has left Miami working multiple angles at once, either through a direct trade package or by waiting on the open market. There is now growing chatter around a three-team framework that would also send Kyrie Irving to South Beach, a move that could reshape the Heat's starting five for years to come.



Why Klay Thompson's expiring deal has Dallas ready to move him
Thompson is in the final year of the three-year, $50 million contract he signed with Dallas in 2024, set to earn a base salary of $17,460,317 before reaching unrestricted free agency in 2027. His role has diminished statistically as the Mavericks lean on younger pieces, and that expiring money makes him one of the more movable veteran assets on the roster this summer.


Miami's trade idea: pairing two former champions with Giannis
Miami's pursuit of Thompson is not a standalone move. The Heat already restructured their roster around Giannis Antetokounmpo this summer and remain one of the finalists for LeBron James, and adding Thompson would give them a third proven champion to build around regardless of how the James decision goes.

One proposed package, from Heavy.com's Sai Mohan, would have Miami landing both Thompson and Kyrie Irving in a three-team deal. For Dallas, moving Thompson's expiring money while adding younger, cost-controlled talent in return fits a roster that is leaning into a longer-term rebuild around its core pieces.


Hypothetical trade structure

• Heat receive: Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson
• Magic receive: Andrew Wiggins
• Mavericks receive: Desmond Bane, Nikola Jovic , Dru Smith

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What Miami gains from this move
Thompson adds a fifth proven scorer and elite floor spacer to a Heat lineup already built around Bam Adebayo, Davion Mitchell, and Antetokounmpo. His shooting gravity would open driving lanes for the frontcourt and give Miami a second heliocentric threat alongside Irving if both moves land.

Financially, absorbing Thompson's expiring $17.46 million salary is manageable for a Heat front office that has already shown a willingness to be aggressive this offseason, and it does not require Miami to attach significant future draft capital under the framework reported so far.


What Dallas and Orlando get in return
For Dallas, the return of Bane, Jovic, and Smith swaps out an expiring veteran for younger, controllable talent, aligning with a roster the Mavericks appear to be retooling around rather than one built to contend immediately.

Orlando's side of the deal, receiving Wiggins, clears a role player off Miami's books while adding size and wing depth. Wiggins carries $249 million in career earnings, reflecting his standing as a long-established rotation piece rather than a rebuilding project.

Adding Thompson's shooting to a core that already includes Antetokounmpo and a possible Irving pairing gives the Heat a level of firepower few teams in the East can match, even before factoring in the LeBron James pursuit.