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Klay Thompson’s tenure with the Dallas Mavericks officially ended on Friday, as the two sides reached a buyout agreement. Signing with the Mavericks in 2024 when he decided to leave the Golden State Warriors certainly proved to be a mistake on Thompson’s part, with the team going absolutely nowhere in his two seasons there. Notably, the Los Angeles Lakers were seriously interested in Thompson’s services at the time, and The Athletic’s Christian Clark has now revealed one of the reasons he rejected them for the Mavericks. “Back in the summer of 2024, Thompson’s representatives had discussions with the Lakers about him winding up there,” Clark wrote. “It would have made sense on several levels. Thompson has deep ties to Los Angeles. He spent much of his childhood in the city and still owns a home there. “But one of the reasons Thompson chose the Mavericks over the Lakers was that he had concerns about [Anthony] Davis’ availability, a source with knowledge of his thinking said,” Clark added. Imagine Thompson’s surprise then, when he found out that the Mavericks were acquiring Anthony Davis from the Lakers in February 2025. Not only were they bringing in the injury-prone Davis, but they were parting with Luka Doncic for him. Thompson had mentioned that Doncic was a huge reason why he signed with the Mavericks. He only got to play with the Slovenian for a few months and then saw him go to the team he rejected for a player he had concerns about. Talk about a hammer blow. The Mavericks got Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick from the Lakers for Doncic. It felt like a terrible decision at the time to trade a generational talent, and that indeed proved to be the case. Doncic has continued to shine for the Lakers, while Davis isn’t even on the Mavericks anymore. Thompson had concerns about his health, and he was right. Davis suffered an adductor injury on his Mavericks debut and ultimately played just nine games for them in the 2024-25 season. More injuries then followed in 2025-26, and the team decided to cut ties with the 10-time All-Star just over a year after acquiring him. The Mavericks traded Davis to the Washington Wizards for an underwhelming haul in February 2026. He played just 29 games for them, and made that Doncic trade look even worse. As if seeing Davis on the sidelines wasn’t bad enough for Thompson, he also witnessed Kyrie Irving tear his ACL in March 2025. The five-time All-Star had gone to the Mavericks in the hopes of winning his fifth title, and they didn’t even make the playoffs in his two seasons. Thompson even took less money for the Mavericks. He agreed to a three-year, $50 million deal in a sign-and-trade despite the Lakers offering him a four-year, $80 million contract. You wonder just how much the 36-year-old regrets that decision. Now, Thompson actually might have had a chance to go to the Lakers in 2026 after leaving the Mavericks. His father, Mychal Thompson, played for the Lakers and revealed he was trying to convince his son to go to Los Angeles. It’s unclear how interested the Lakers were, but Thompson chose to go to the Miami Heat. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, he intends to sign a two-year deal worth about $13 million with the Heat. Thompson averaged 11.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game for the Mavericks in 2025-26. He shot 38.3% from beyond the arc and is the kind of shooter the Heat desperately needed. Thompson seems to think he can win a championship in Miami, and here’s hoping he doesn’t end up regretting this decision like his last one.