Klay Thompson was anticipating a move as early as April when he dished out a valuable life lesson. He was asked about his future with the Mavericks, which he described as a “hard-hitter.” And like his deep three-pointers, Klay’s response to this was also bang on: “I’ve definitely learned in my time in Dallas [that] things can change on a dime.”

Well, things have changed. Klay will be leaving Dallas for South Beach. This comes only days after the veteran made his ambitions clear twice. Once with the fanbase and once with the Mavericks. He wants to compete for another ring, and his latest decision showcases that money really didn’t matter.

Insider Shams Charania revealed that Klay is expected to sign with the Miami Heat after he clears waivers on his contract buyout with Dallas. It will be a two-year deal with a reported near-$13 million salary down from his previous $17.5 million expiring paycheck. The second season will be a player option.

Masai Ujiri, the Mavericks’ new president of basketball operations, showcased only gratitude in his parting statement to one of the greatest shooters in the league. Crucially, it was actually quite different, and rather the opposite of what ex-General Manager Nico Harrison had blurted.

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“Klay is one of the great players and competitors of his generation, and we are grateful for everything he brought to the Mavericks organization,” Ujiri said in a team statement on Friday. “We have tremendous respect for Klay and all that he has accomplished throughout his career, and we wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”

When a very dejected version of Klay had joined the Mavericks in 2024, Harrison made a promise to the fanbase, boldly claiming, “We were a Klay Thompson away [from winning].” Reality, however, panned out differently: Harrison (disastrously) traded Luka Doncic away, and they never made the playoffs for the next two years, let alone win a title.

But Ujiri didn’t focus on any of that failure. His appreciation is a testament to what Thompson has done for the Mavericks over the past two seasons across 141 games. 80 of which were starts, while averaging 12.9 points per game and shooting 38.7 percent from beyond the arc. And despite maintaining an elite shooting clip, he wasn’t really part of the franchise’s Cooper Flagg era plan.

Meanwhile, the Heat have been retooling their roster and have seen immense benefit in adding Klay, who overtook Damian Lillard last season to become the fourth player in NBA history in three-point shots made.

The Heat ranked outside the top-10 overall in the NBA last year at 13.7 three-point shots per game, a need that became even more pressing once the team parted with most of its trade chips to get Giannis Antetokounmpo, a two-time MVP player, and put him alongside center Bam Adebayo.

Yes, Miami had signed Tim Hardaway Jr. through free agency, but they were lacking a consistent outside shooter, which is precisely what Klay, who is a 40.9 percent career three-point shooter, brings to the table.

The Heat’s front office had its eyes on Klay for a long time, and their only demand was for the Mavericks to reportedly buy out his contract. Simply because Miami didn’t have anything left to offer in a trade. But Dallas believed they could get something in return for the sharpshooter. For a short while, the Warriors even appeared to be better in contention to land Klay and a dream reunion with Stephen Curry.

Even though Klay hinted at a Bay Area return when a fan asked him about it this offseason, the veteran appears to have found the Heat’s route to a title better. In case you’re wondering, Klay doesn’t have any regrets about leaving the Warriors. Nor does he really ponder Doncic leaving the Mavericks, defeating the sole purpose of why he went there. He holds a Steve Kerr lesson close to his heart.

“Kerr used to tell me, ‘We don’t get paid because it’s fun, you get paid because it’s really hard and you have to deal with those obstacles that come at you,'” Thompson said in April earlier this year.

The trade news spread like wildfire on social media, with opinions divided between optimism about the start of Thompson’s new era and jokes about his life in Miami.

Klay Thompson’s move to Miami inspires confidence in fans

Even though Klay Thompson’s career has seen a downward spiral since his major ACL and Achilles injuries from his Warriors days, the sharpshooter still has a die-hard fanbase who are rooting for him to succeed. That set of fans couldn’t be happier.

“Best news of the day. Booooom,” said a fan.

Another one said, “Wow, man, life is good.”

This latest trade headline is major good news, especially after what Klay was put through in Dallas. He was relegated to the bench by former coach Jason Kidd only seven games into the season despite starting promises. Kidd indicated it was only a tactical move, but that wasn’t true. Now, Dallas is entering a rebuild centered on 2025 No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg, with Dusty May taking over as head coach. Klay parting ways with them was arguably for the best.

“‘He probably already brought his yachts there as well,’ said another reaction, poking fun at Klay’s beach life aspect.

It is safe to say that Miami has plenty of sea for ‘Captain Klay.’ The NBA superstar will be right on Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, giving him the opportunity to use his Nordic Knife cruiser as a getaway during his free time.

A fan commented, “Gaddamn the HEAT are cooking!!!.”

“Got a feeling Klay’s gone to surprise us this year,” was another reaction.

The excitement stems from how Miami went into the summer making major sacrifices for aggressive returns in Giannis, Tim Hardaway Jr., and now Thompson. The Heat’s starting 5 for next season could look like: Davion Mitchell, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo.

The Heat still have two roster spots open and a playmaking gap to address, but fans view the Klay’s trade as low risk and high reward for a contending team. That’s because, even though he is 36, Klay was still the second-best deep shooter on the Mavericks, behind only Max Christie at 40.4% last season.