Bleacher Report kept the Dallas Mavericks 19th in its latest NBA power rankings after the Klay Thompson buyout, with a play-in berth viewed as realistic.
DALLAS - Bleacher Report recently released its latest NBA power rankings, five days after the Dallas Mavericks finalized a buyout deal with Klay Thompson. Andy Bailey kept Dallas at 19th place, the same position as in his earlier ranking.
Bailey's entry included Santi Aldama, Zaccharie Risacher, and Tarik Biberović joining a roster that now features Kyrie Irving returning from injury, Cooper Flagg after a Rookie of the Year season, and Dusty May in his first NBA head coaching role. The playoffs still seem unlikely in this projection. The play-in, Bailey wrote, "wouldn't be a shocking place to end up." Bailey wrote that either of the two incoming first-round picks contributing right away could make the play-in the floor rather than the ceiling.
Morez Johnson Jr. was selected ninth overall in June. Sergio de Larrea was selected later in the first round and averaged 8.8 assists in Las Vegas, setting a Mavericks Summer League record with 14 against Oklahoma City on July 16. Dallas also traded for combo guard Marcus Sasser. Irving tore his ACL in March 2025 and hasn't played since.
Dallas announced the Thompson buyout on Aug. 21. Thompson arrived in a sign-and-trade with the Golden State Warriors in the summer of 2024. He gave back roughly $9.8 million of the $17,460,317 he was owed in the final season of the three-year, $50 million contract he signed in 2024, according to HoopsHype's Michael Scotto. He cleared waivers and signed a two-year deal with the Miami Heat, first reported by ESPN's Shams Charania. The second season carries a player option.
Over two seasons with Dallas, Thompson appeared in 141 games and started 80, averaging 12.9 points on 40.3% shooting and 38.7% from three. He hit 441 three-pointers in that span. In January, he passed Damian Lillard to move into fourth place on the NBA's all-time three-point list. Last season, mostly coming off the bench, he averaged 11.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 21.7 minutes over 69 games, with career lows of 39.3% on field goals and 38.3% from beyond the arc.
The buyout brought the roster to the 15-contract maximum. Dallas had carried 16 standard deals for most of the summer. Masai Ujiri took over as president of basketball operations this offseason and hired Mike Schmitz as general manager, and May was hired in June.
ESPN's Summer Forecast ranks Dallas 12th in the Western Conference with a 32-50 record, just outside the play-in zone. The panel places the Mavericks behind the Los Angeles Clippers at 33-49 and ahead of Memphis, New Orleans, and Sacramento. Dallas ended last season with a 26-56 record.
Training camp begins next month, with the Mavericks starting the regular season on Oct. 21 against the Houston Rockets.
