Klay Thompson's decision to pursue a buyout from the Dallas Mavericks (and his intention to play alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo) might've just solved the Miami Heat's biggest need around their new superstar duo. For those concerned about the Heat's spacing and shooting around Giannis, Thompson is a pretty resounding response to those questions.
Thompson just doesn't give the Heat a good 3-point shooter who could play opposite Giannis and Bam Adebayo; he gives them an elite one. In fact, Thompson is going to go down as one of the best 3-point shooters in NBA history.
In what many would call a "down" season for Thompson, he averaged 12 points on 38 percent shooting from 3-point range. Oh, and that's while playing without two players like Giannis and Bam, who are going to draw multiple defenders into the paint on every offensive possession.
Thompson gives the Heat an almost perfect complementary player next to their two stars. If he can stay healthy, there's no question Thompson is going to be in for a huge season in Miami.
The Heat's supporting cast looks quite good all of a sudden
After the big move for Giannis earlier this summer, this is a pretty huge complementary signing by the Heat's front office. If there were any concerns about the supporting cast around Giannis, those are now pretty much over.
Does the Heat have the best supporting cast around their new star duo? Not exactly. But it's going to be difficult to say that a supporting cast that consists of Davion Mitchell, Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Pelle Larsson, Tim Hardaway Jr., Nikola Jovic, Bobby Portis, and a couple of developmental young players won't move the needle alongside Giannis and Bam.
It's tough to say how much the signing of Thompson will ultimately impact the Heat this season, but there's no question that, at least on paper, this is a move that legitimizes the team in a way they hadn't been before.
The Heat will be a dangerous team in the East
Again, I can't imagine anyone is going to have the Heat as a favorite to come out of the Eastern Conference, but the argument that Miami doesn't have enough shooting to do so is gone. It's out the window. Even their depth is a lot better than most would've expected in their first-year build around Giannis.
The mass NBA media won't give this front office enough credit for what they've managed to pull off this summer. And the best part of it all is that they may not even be done. After the expected signing of Thompson, the Heat will still have two open roster spots to fill before the start of training camp.
The expectation is that the Heat will likely keep one of those spots open heading into the season, probably to pursue an in-season buyout signing down the line. But even if that ends up being the case, the Heat will likely still add one more contributing piece before the start of camp.
And that's only going to further build their argument as a contender.
The move for Thompson is the exact follow-up move that the Heat needed to make after the trade for Giannis. It may have taken them a few more months to pull off than they would've liked, but it's hard to argue with the results.
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