Even after the big move for Giannis Antetokounmpo, Pat Riley knew he needed more veterans with championship experience to put this new version of the Miami Heat in the best position to succeed. And he did exactly that with the move to sign Klay Thompson (after he agreed to a buyout from the Dallas Mavericks).
Thompson officially agreed to sign a two-year deal with the Heat after clearing waivers Sunday night. It's a move that the Heat believes will end up pushing Miami closer to their ultimate goal in the Giannis era.
Based on Riley's championship formula, it's safe to say that Thompson is going to play a big role for the Heat this season. Or, at the very least, that's going to be somewhat of an expectation.
“Heat president Pat Riley has long believed the teams with championship aspirations need older veterans around their core, players with the savviness, mettle and experience to thrive during harrowing postseason moments."
Klay Thompson was a dream late-summer addition to the Heat
Looking at the current landscape of free agency, there's no player who would've fit Riley's description of what a championship team needs around their star core better than Thompson. The fact that Riley was able to pull off such a move is nothing short of impressive.
And if he genuinely believes that signing Thompson is going to move the Heat one step closer to winning a championship with Giannis, it's hard to argue with the decision. Time will ultimately tell how all this plays out, but there's no question the front office has executed to near perfection this summer.
Sure, there are questions about just how much Thompson may have left in the tank at this stage of his career, but he may be landing in the best position for himself. If you were to draw out how Thompson could extend his career in a meaningful way, it's hard to conjure up a situation that would be better than the Heat's.
Miami will give Thompson the ability to not only play a pretty important role while he's on the court, but his championship pedigree and experience will also serve the Heat well. From a pure basketball point of view, Thompson next to Giannis and Bam Adebayo is as clean a fit as it can get.
On paper, Thompson's strengths and the intangibles that he brings to the table line up perfectly with not only what the Heat needs from a basketball point of view, but also in terms of fitting exactly what Riley believes will help complete their championship formula.
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