Klay Thompson Trade Reportedly Could be Explored by Mavs, Top NBA Landing Spots

Despite playing better in recent weeks, the Dallas Mavericks still figure to end up being sellers ahead of the trade deadline and Klay Thompson is one of the more attractive players on the roster they could move.

Per ESPN's Shams Charania, Thompson is among the players Dallas is "open" to exploring the trade market for as he looks to play for a title contender at this late stage of his career.

When Thompson was a free agent in the summer of 2024, he was deciding between offers from the Mavs and Los Angeles Lakers.

The five-time All-Star wound up taking a three-year, $50 million deal from Dallas, with Adrian Wojnarowski then of ESPN reporting he was largely "inspired by the chance to compete for a fifth title" with a team that was coming off an impressive run to the NBA Finals.

Things quickly changed for the Mavs after Thompson joined the fray. The main driving force of that 2024 postseason run was Luka Dončić, who was traded to the Lakers in February.

Dallas missed the playoffs last season and is off to a 9-16 start this season. Things have looked better recently with four wins in its last five games, but the team is still climbing out of a huge hole and is still far away from being able to compete with the top clubs in the West, like the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets.

Thompson, who had a slow start of his own, has been better recently. He is shooting 39.8 percent from three on 9.1 attempts per game in 13 appearances since Nov. 12.

His contract isn't prohibitive to a deal with salaries of $16.7 million this season and $17.5 million in 2025-26.

Even if the Mavs are able to keep playing well leading up to the Feb. 5 trade deadline, Thompson is a player they could justify moving because he is 35 and doesn't fit their timeline with Cooper Flagg as the face of the franchise.

There are always teams in the market for shooting help during the season, giving Thompson plenty of value if the Mavericks start exploring their options.