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Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks looks on before a game against the Brooklyn Nets at Fiserv Forum.

The Miami Heat made their superstar deal on Monday night, securing Giannis Antetokounmpo for a massive trade haul that included four players, three first-round picks, a first-round pick swap and a second-rounder.

Pat Riley and company now face the daunting task of building up the depleted roster around the two-time MVP, starting with floor spacers.

The mind conjures few players in the history of the NBA more quickly than Klay Thompson when the topic of elite 3-point shooters comes up. And while Thompson hasn’t been the same two-way star he was prior to suffering a torn ACL and ruptured Achilles tendon in back-to-back years in 2019 and 2020, one thing the 36-year-old still does at a high level is stripe from downtown.

Thompson averaged nearly 12 points per game last season in a shade under 22 minutes nightly, shooting 38.3 percent from deep on 7.6 attempts. For his career, Thompson is a 40.9 percent 3-point shooter on 7.6 tries per game.

Ethan Skolnick of 5 Reasons Sports and ON SI reported Tuesday, June 23 that Thompson is a player to watch in the coming days as a potential addition around Antetokounmpo.

Trading for Klay Thompson May Not Prove Simple for Heat

GettyKlay Thompson of the Dallas Mavericks.

Thompson still has one year remaining on his three-year, $50 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks — a deal he signed thinking he’d be playing off Luka Doncic and competing at a high level in the Western Conference for its duration.

But with Doncic long gone and Dallas resetting around Cooper Flagg from the front office to the coaching staff and down through the roster, Thompson profiles as a player Dallas might consider moving for the right incentive(s).

The only clear path to Miami for Thompson is via trade, and under current league rules the Heat will have to find matching salary in the neighborhood of the nearly $17.5 million Thompson will earn in 2026-27.

The only player remaining on Miami’s roster who is a close match and would work in a one-to-one trade is Nikola Jovic, a first-round pick in 2022 who has averaged 8.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game across 154 appearances (57 starts) over his four-year NBA career.

Jovic is just beginning a four-year contract in 2026-27 valued at $62.4 million total and carries a salary cap hit of $16.2 million next season.

Dallas may push for a draft asset in the deal as well given that while Jovic is 14 years younger than Thompson, the latter is currently a more statistically productive performer and will play on an expiring contract during the upcoming campaign that provides flexibility and pending cap relief.

Heat Have Long Contemplated Players to Complement Giannis Antetokounmpo

Whatever Miami’s plans are to surround Antetokounmpo with shooting, and whether they include Thompson or not, is something that team insiders say the Heat have been contemplating for weeks.

“The Heat have been busy — long before tonight — figuring out what shooters to put around Bam Adebayo and Giannis Antetokounmpo,” Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press reported via X on Monday. “They have their targets.”

Other names mentioned as possibilities for Miami in recent days include Khris Middleton, Antetokounmpo’s former championship teammate with the Milwaukee Bucks, and Bradley Beal.