At this point, it's the worst-kept secret in the world that the Miami Heat want Klay Thompson. Badly. In fact, in his latest bit of reporting, NBA insider Marc Stein went as far as to say that the Heat were "desperate" to land Thompson.
And, sure, in theory, Thompson would represent one heck of a final move after the acquisition of Giannis Antetokounmpo earlier this offseason. But, of course, as is almost always the case, it's not necessarily going to be that simple for the Heat.
So much so that there's one big problem with the idea of the Heat acquiring Thompson. It's the fact that Thompson is not currently a free agent and that the Heat don't want to put assets on the table to trade for him.
Add in the fact that the Dallas Mavericks seemingly have no interest in buying out Thompson (for now), and it's easy to see why this becomes a much bigger problem to accomplish the Heat's desire.
Is the Heat's dream for Klay Thompson is unrealistic?
In theory, the Heat want Thompson. But at their cost. In a perfect scenario, the Heat would be able to sign Thompson after he's bought out by the Mavs before the start of training camp. Whether that will come to fruition or not remains to be seen, but that's what the Heat is hoping happens over the next few weeks.
For now, that scenario does seem a bit "unrealistic." But only because the Mavs don't appear willing to play their part. Even if it is true that Thompson wants out, it's hard to believe that Dallas' first response will be to buy him out.
Naturally, the Mavs are more interested in trading Thompson (with the hopes of getting an asset in exchange, or perhaps a young player) than just cutting him loose with the only upside of saving a few million dollars and getting an extra roster spot.
The Heat are still playing a game of chicken with the Mavs
The Heat, at least for now, seemingly have no issues with waiting out this entire process. Miami has not been in a rush to make any other moves until there's some sort of clarification on the Thompson front.
Free agents continue to fly off the market, and the Heat don't appear to be moved by any means. Perhaps that does speak to how "desperate" the Heat are to land Thompson.
On paper, it would make sense that the Heat would be all-in on the idea of adding Thompson. However, that path is going to be increasingly difficult for the team to navigate. Despite how badly they may want to make it happen, that's one thing that has become abundantly clear.
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