New Klay Thompson Rumors Update Mavs Trade, Contract Buyout Buzz Amid Heat Link

The Dallas Mavericks are reportedly prepared to move on from veteran guard Klay Thompson, but only on their terms.

NBA insider Marc Stein reported that while there has been "direct contact" between new Mavs president Masai Ujiri and Thompson, Dallas has "maintained since mid-June that it prefers to trade Thompson if possible rather than buy him out." Meanwhile, the Miami Heat reportedly "sit at the front of the line of teams hoping that" the two sides reach a buyout agreement. Two sources told Stein that it "remains unclear how the situation will play out."

Thompson is entering his 16th season in the NBA, and the four-time champion is hoping to put himself in a position to compete for another title before calling it a career. The Mavs are continuing their rebuild under first-year head coach Dusty May, so the 36-year-old has opened himself up to the possibility of continuing his career elsewhere.

"I want to compete for a championship. Not necessarily win another one, but have the chance to go and try and get another one," Thompson said during a recent Twitch live stream. "I want to play a role on a team that can make a deep playoff run, whether it's this season or next season. That's really my only goal."

It doesn't sound like there's much motivation from Miami to give up assets to pry Thompson away from Dallas. Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reported that the Heat "could get creative with a trade offer revolving around 23-year-old forward Nikola Jovic" in exchange for Thompson, but "this doesn't appear to be a scenario Miami wants to see play out."

Siegel added that the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors are the "two other teams with a level of interest in Thompson," but it still appears that the universal preference is to pursue him on the open market after he's bought out rather than trading for him.