Miami gets its sniper
Two days. That is all it took for Klay Thompson to go from waived veteran to Miami Heat guard.
The franchise confirmed the signing overnight from Sunday into Monday, hours after Dallas cut him loose from the final year of his contract. Miami did not disclose the money. ESPN reported a two-year deal worth close to $13 million, a steep drop from the $17.5 million Thompson was set to collect with the Mavericks this season. He asked out to chase a contender. Dallas obliged, put him on waivers Friday, and he cleared them as a free agent.
Pat Riley was hardly shy about it. “Klay is one of the most iconic players to ever step on an NBA floor,” the Heat president said. “A four-time champion, battle-tested, and a perfect fit for his role at both ends of the court. People always talk about his shot, but he brings so much more.”
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2,899 threes and counting
Thompson is 36. Thirteen seasons in the league, four titles with Golden State in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022. Five All-Star nods. Two All-NBA third teams. One All-Defensive second team in 2019, which the shooting talk tends to bury.
His 2,899 career three-pointers rank fourth in league history, at a 40.9 percent clip. Last season in Dallas he averaged 11.7 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 21.7 minutes, hitting 38.3 percent from deep across 69 games with eight starts. He still led the Mavericks in makes from range with 202, his 11th season at 200 or better.
And the record from October 29, 2018 has not budged. Fourteen threes in one game against Chicago. Nobody has touched it.
Riley is not building for next decade
Miami finished 43-39 last season, 10th in the East, then went out in the play-in against Charlotte. That was before Giannis Antetokounmpo arrived from Milwaukee in July. Now Riley has parked an elite floor-spacer next to his new franchise player, and the Heat look very much like a team in a hurry.
Dallas heads the other way. Twelfth in the West, 26 wins, 56 losses, and one fewer shooter.
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