Klay Thompson's wish to join a playoff contender has been proven in his major buyout sacrifice, with the Golden State Warriors legend reportedly giving back nearly $10 million in his departure from the Dallas Mavericks.
According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype on Saturday, Thompson gave back roughly $9.8 million in his contract buyout. However, the five-time All-Star will approximately make nearly two-thirds of that back on his new deal with the Miami Heat who were able to provide a financial offer the Warriors, and many other teams around the league, couldn't have matched.
Heat give Klay Thompson contract Warriors couldn't have matched
Make no mistake, this Thompson decision is primarily a basketball one after the four-time champion recently declared his wish for a return to meaningful basketball after missing the playoffs in each of the past three seasons.
After making a blockbuster trade for Giannis Antetokoumpo at the start of the offseason, the Heat are in the perfect position to not only offer Thompson a road back to the playoffs, but also give him a significant role and shot opportunities playing off the former Milwaukee Bucks superstar and All-Star big man Bam Adebayo.
But Miami were also able to appease Thompson financially to the point where he was willing to give over half his $17.5 million expiring contract back to Dallas. The 36-year-old plans to sign a two-year, $13 million deal with the Heat, meaning he'll still make roughly $14 million this upcoming season while now having an approximately $6.7 million player option for the following year.
Klay Thompson gave back roughly $9.8 million in his buyout agreement with the Dallas Mavericks, league sources told @hoopshype. As widely reported, Thompson now plans to join the Miami Heat once he clears waivers.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) August 22, 2026
The Warriors do have the available roster spots to have tried to bring Thompson back into the fold, but would have only had a minimum contract to hand out out after giving their taxpayer mid-level exception to another veteran guard in De'Anthony Melton.
Warriors reunion clearly wasn't enticing enough for Klay Thompson
Thompson would have needed to sacrifice a few more million dollars were he to reunite with Golden State, not to mention the stature of being reduced to being a veteran minimum player which is often hard to recover from if there's hope of a bigger deal further down the line.
Perhaps he would have been willing to do so if the Warriors were in a position of contention, but that's simply not the case given an underwhelming offseason which followed an absence from the playoffs, along with long-term injuries to Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody.
The presence of Melton and Brandin Podziemski hardly guaranteed a big role for Thompson either, making a Warriors reunion far less enticing than the combination of factors the Heat were able to offer.
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