Klay Thompson Bolts to Miami on Two-Year, $13M Deal After Mavs Buyout

Klay Thompson didn't stay a free agent for long. After agreeing to a buyout with Dallas, the four-time champ intends to sign a two-year, $13 million deal with the Miami Heat once he clears waivers, per a Friday report from ESPN's Shams Charania. The second year is a player option, so this is effectively a one-year bet with an escape hatch.

The move ends Thompson's two-season Dallas run, where he averaged 12.9 points on 40.3% shooting and 38.7% from three across 141 games (80 starts). It also sends him to the Eastern Conference for the first time in a career that started with 13 seasons in Golden State — and he won't wait long to see his old team, with the Warriors hosting Miami on Nov. 5.

For fantasy purposes, let's be honest about where Thompson sits. He posted just 11.7 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 69 games last season (2025-26, actual), good for 17.8 fantasy points per game. That's why he lands at #245 overall in our rankings, and #111 at his position — the range where players live or die by matchup and minutes.

The Heat move doesn't obviously fix any of that. Miami plays a possession-heavy, ball-movement style that could theoretically get him clean looks, but it's a crowded wing rotation and Thompson's counting stats beyond scoring have cratered. A one-dimensional shooter who doesn't rebound, assist, or fill the stocks column is a tough fantasy hold in anything but the deepest formats.

The Fantasy Takeaway

There's a scenario where a hot shooting stretch turns Thompson into a useful three-and-scoring streamer, especially in weeks Miami runs a light schedule of favorable matchups. But you're not drafting for that — you're watching for it. Leave him on the wire in standard leagues, monitor his opening-night role and minutes, and only pounce if the volume and efficiency show up early. Until then, this is a name-brand signing with a fantasy floor that doesn't move much.