Especially with the remaining list of quality free agents dwindling down, the Miami Heat just got the exact Klay Thompson update that they desperately needed.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Heat are still "at the front of the line" of teams hoping to pry Thompson out of Dallas. The Mavericks maintain that they would rather trade Thompson than buy him out, but at least for now, much of that is still up in the air.
The real takeaway here is that the Heat and Thompson seemingly want to find a path toward each other. It's all about making it happen now.
"Miami continues to sit at the front of the line of teams hoping that Dallas buys out Klay Thompson. Two sources briefed on the process said this week that it remains unclear how the situation will play out. Dallas currently has 16 standard contracts on its books — one more than the league maximum that will be allowed as of Oct. 19 — but Thompson's fate remained undecided as of Sunday."
The Heat are likely to keep waiting for Klay Thompson
Of course, that's going to be a lot easier said than done. If the Mavs are comfortable holding out for a trade, it doesn't seem like that's a path they're willing to take. At least not right now.
With training camp still more than a month away, the most likely next step for the Heat is more patience. If Thompson is indeed the top priority for the Heat, as has consistently been reported over the last few weeks, it makes no sense to eject on that plan now.
Miami has waited this long; what's another few weeks? If training camp arrives and Thompson is still in Dallas, perhaps at that point it may be time to pivot.
For now, though, the expectation is that the Heat will keep on waiting.
Whether that will end up being a smart plan in the end remains to be seen. However, especially if Miami believes Thompson is a piece that could legitimize this supporting cast around Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo, and there's reason to believe that could be the case, they'll have every reason to see this through.
At this point, it'd be surprising if this wasn't the plan for the Heat.
The Heat have had a tremendous offseason. And if they were to find a path to Thompson, there's reason to believe that their work this summer will only begin to look that much better. And this recent update on Thompson is nothing short of encouraging for that possibility.
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