​The NBA offseason has a knack for transforming surprising developments into credible possibilities, especially after a whirlwind start to free agency that reshapes several teams’ plans. Right now, the future of one four-time NBA champion remains unsettled, drawing attention from league insiders who urge teams to monitor the situation closely. Klay Thompson’s situation with the Dallas Mavericks appears tenuous as he pursues his fifth title, while Dallas continues to rebuild around young star Cooper Flagg. The veteran sharpshooter, now 36, may be weighing a move to a team with a more immediate path to winning now.
During his appearance at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, insider Marc Stein offered insight into what might lie ahead for Thompson. “I’ve also fielded questions, ‘Is Klay a buyout candidate?’ To this point, as much has been relayed to me is that I think the Mavs’ preference would be a trade. It’s still early enough in the summer that I think if you’re the Mavs, you would exhaust those options first, but we’ve gotta keep an eye on it,” Stein explained.
The Mavericks brought Thompson to Dallas in 2024 with the aim of pairing him with Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving to pursue a championship. That objective hit a roadblock in February 2025 when Dallas traded Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal centered around Anthony Davis. A month after that controversial move, Kyrie Irving tore his left ACL, leaving Thompson to shoulder a larger role amidst a turbulent season. In the wake of those events, Dallas acknowledged missteps in moving Dončić and began planning a reset. The franchise ultimately traded Davis to the Washington Wizards last season to fully embrace a rebuild around Flagg, the 19-year-old cornerstone of Dallas’s long-term vision.
Thompson is on an expiring contract worth $17.5 million, which naturally places him on the radar as a potential trade target. Yet the market for an aging veteran who endured a difficult 2025-26 season may not be eager to absorb him in a traditional deal. In the most recent campaign, Thompson averaged 11.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game—figures that represent the lowest in his career across all three categories. His shooting also dipped, with a 39.3% success rate from the field and a 38.3% clip from beyond the arc, marking the nadir of his already storied career.
The downturn in Thompson’s production became increasingly apparent as the season progressed, prompting Dallas’s then-head coach Jason Kidd to reduce his minutes. Thompson started only eight of the 69 games he appeared in, underscoring the fading trust in his role within the rotation. For Dallas, the optimal move remains to engineer a trade that can yield fresh assets while clearing roster space and salary commitments. If no viable trade arises, a buyout could serve as a clean exit for both sides, allowing Thompson to pursue opportunities with a team better positioned to contend immediately while Dallas accelerates its rebuild around Flagg.