The Miami Heat’s pursuit of Klay Thompson may no longer depend on the Dallas Mavericks granting him a buyout.
A stalled restricted-free-agent negotiation across the country could create Miami’s clearest trade path.
ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel reported that Dallas could use Thompson’s $17.5 million expiring contract to acquire Clippers restricted free agent Bennedict Mathurin. The Mavericks are fewer than $3 million below the luxury-tax line and would need to send out salary to absorb Mathurin’s new deal.
Siegel added that the Heat have been “locked in” on finding a way to acquire Thompson.
A three-team construction involving Miami, Dallas and the Clippers can work under the NBA’s current collective bargaining agreement.
Heat receive: Klay Thompson
Mavericks receive: Bennedict Mathurin on a four-year, $90 million sign-and-trade contract
Clippers receive: Nikola Jovic, Miami’s 2027 second-round pick and Dallas’ 2032 second-round pick
This is a hypothetical framework, not a trade under active discussion.
Why This Heat Klay Thompson Trade Works Financially
GettyKlay Thompson could help the Miami Heat fill the shoes left by Tyler Herro from the perimeter.
A four-year, $90 million contract with 5% annual raises would give Mathurin a starting salary of approximately $20.9 million.
Dallas can acquire that salary by sending out Thompson’s $17.46 million contract. The Mavericks would add approximately $3.5 million to their payroll, keeping them comfortably below the $209.015 million first apron required for a team acquiring a player through a sign-and-trade.
Miami would send out Jovic’s $16.2 million salary and take back Thompson, increasing its payroll by only $1.26 million. The Heat are more than $10 million below their first-apron hard cap, according to Miami’s current cap sheet, leaving sufficient room to complete the deal.
Mathurin would be subject to base-year compensation rules for the Clippers. His outgoing matching salary would count as approximately $10.5 million — half his new first-year salary — but Los Angeles could still receive Jovic’s contract because teams below the first apron can take back the outgoing amount plus $7.5 million in this salary range.
The numbers fit for all three teams.
Why Every Team Could Say Yes
Getty Nikola Jovic of the Miami Heat drives against Dalen Terry of the Chicago Bulls during the second quarter of the game at Kaseya Center on January 31, 2026 in Miami, Florida.
Thompson would address Miami’s most obvious lineup weakness.
The Heat are built around newly acquired star Giannis Antetokounmpo and longtime franchise cornerstone Bam Adebayo, two dominant interior players who require shooting around them. Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell are not high-volume floor spacers, while Tim Hardaway Jr. is the only player who can consistently knock down the 3-point shot.
Thompson averaged a career-low 11.7 points last season but still made 38.3% of his 3-point attempts. Even at 36, defenders cannot casually leave one of the greatest shooters in league history.
Moving Jovic would carry risk, but his pathway narrowed after Miami acquired Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis while retaining Adebayo and Wiggins. Jovic also struggled last season, averaging 7.3 points and shooting 36.6% from the field as the first season of his four-year, $62.4 million extension approached.
The Clippers would receive a 23-year-old, 6-foot-10 playmaker under long-term control plus two draft assets instead of committing more than $20 million annually to Mathurin. Dallas would turn an aging reserve into a 24-year-old scorer who averaged 17.6 points last season.
Miami would get the player it has pursued without waiting for a buyout Dallas has no intention of granting.
The cost would be meaningful. So would the fit.
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