Klay Thompson looks increasingly likely to join the rich list of future Hall-of-Famers who have made moves this offseason, with the Dallas Mavericks understood to have no intention of keeping the five-time All-Star. And while the likes of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors have been linked with interest, there is a catch as far as a move to the Miami Heat is concerned.

One obvious solution for the Heat to complete the trade was brought up by ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel in the form of Nikola Jovic, who is owed $15.6 million for the upcoming season, roughly the same amount that Thompson will be paid for the 2026-27 campaign.

LeBron-76ers, Warriors/Curry Future, NBA Intel | Clutch Scoops with @TomerAzarly and @BrettSiegelNBA https://t.co/hRaRhFABAI

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 30, 2026

“It does seem like the Miami Heat are a viable landing spot. Again we mentioned Nikola Jovic as an almost identical salary match for Thompson. We will see if a deal gets done there,” he had said.

This also means that despite being a buyout candidate, the Mavericks are understood to be more interested in trading the four-time champion as they believe they can get some assets in exchange. Siegel also pointed out that Thompson or his representatives have not yet approached Dallas to negotiate a buyout, which again points to the fact that the Mavericks are simply looking to get the right value for his contract.

However, while Jovic may be an obvious candidate for this trade as far as Miami are concerned, Jake Fischer presented an obvious catch, claiming that the move would already have happened if it was likely to happen this offseason.

“The Mavericks would trade Klay Thompson. There’s definitely been some type of buzz, framework, whatever about a Klay Thompson for Nikola Jovic thing for weeks now. If that was to happen, I think it would probably already have happened,” he explained.

“The Mavericks would trade Klay Thompson. There’s definitely been some type of buzz, framework, whatever about a Klay Thompson for Nikola Jovic thing for weeks now”

— @JakeLFischer on the Heat and Mavericks talks for Klay Thompson https://t.co/Zx7udv0ueU pic.twitter.com/ijNhhiPSZQ

— Heat Central (@TheHeatCentral) August 4, 2026

The Mavericks are reportedly intent on getting value out of Klay Thompson’s contract and have therefore ruled out a buyout, at least for the time being. And while the Heat have Nikola Jovic at roughly the same salary as Thompson, any trade involving the two would have happened by now if it was being seriously considered. Thompson is entering the final year of his three-year, $51 million contract that he signed with the Mavericks back in 2024, and reportedly has the Los Angeles Lakers at the top of his preferred destinations.

However, with no buyout on the table, it appears for the time being that his next team may depend more on what kind of package any of the interested teams are willing to offer the Mavericks.

Klay Thompson looks increasingly likely to join the rich list of future Hall-of-Famers who have made moves this offseason, with the Dallas Mavericks understood to have no intention of keeping the five-time All-Star. And while the likes of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors have been linked with interest, there is a catch as far as a move to the Miami Heat is concerned.