NBA trade proposal sends Mavericks’ Klay Thompson to Spurs

NBA trade season has a way of lining up strange bedfellows.

Sometimes it’s desperation meeting opportunity. Other times, it’s two teams heading in opposite directions whose timelines briefly intersect.

This hypothetical falls into the latter category.

The Mavericks and Spurs are operating from very different places right now, but that hasn’t stopped the outlines of a logical deal from forming around Klay Thompson.

San Antonio sits near the top of the West and continues to signal that it’s ready to compete now, especially with Victor Wembanyama anchoring both ends of the floor.

Dallas, meanwhile, has drifted into evaluation mode, with a growing emphasis on flexibility and a longer-term view built around Cooper Flagg.

That contrast frames a clean, CBA-compliant hypothetical centered on Thompson, whose role and contract arguably make more sense with a contender than a team recalibrating its timeline.

This trade proposal comes from Jake Rogers of DallasHoopsJournal. Let’s take a look: 

Spurs receive

• Klay Thompson
• Danté Exum

Mavericks receive

• Kelly Olynyk
• Lindy Waters III

From a mechanics standpoint, the numbers work. Dallas sends out roughly $18.9 million and takes back about $15.7 million, trimming future payroll and easing second-apron pressure.

San Antonio absorbs the difference and remains comfortably below both the tax line and the aprons.

Why Spurs Would Consider It

The Spurs’ cost is real but contained. Kelly Olynyk is an expiring, non-core veteran. Lindy Waters III is fringe rotation depth on a lightly guaranteed deal. No draft capital moves. No long-term flexibility is sacrificed.

What San Antonio gains is clarity. Thompson no longer needs to be a focal point to be useful.

Even in decline, his off-ball gravity still matters. He understands spacing, doesn’t need touches, and brings more than a decade of playoff experience to a roster that’s learning on the fly.

For a team built around Wembanyama’s interior dominance, Thompson’s presence stretches the floor, simplifies reads, and fits postseason basketball in ways that don’t always show up in box scores.

Exum’s inclusion is largely bookkeeping. He’s out long term following knee surgery and can be waived or rehabbed without consequence. Thompson’s contract becomes an expiring in 2026–27, which keeps San Antonio flexible if the fit isn’t perfect.

Why Mavs Would Listen

From Dallas’ perspective, this is about timing, not talent.

Thompson was acquired to push immediately. That lane has narrowed. With Flagg emerging as the franchise’s centerpiece, the Mavericks’ priorities have shifted toward optionality and balance-sheet sanity.

Moving Thompson clears future money, removes a $17.5 million commitment for 2026–27, and helps Dallas navigate apron constraints without touching premium assets. Shedding Exum’s injured salary further cleans the books.

The return isn’t flashy, but it’s intentional. Olynyk provides a short-term stretch big and connective passer, particularly useful with frontcourt depth strained.

He comes with no long-term risk. Waters’ partially guaranteed contract offers another lever, either as low-cost depth or a clean waiver to create room later.

Taken together, the deal allows Dallas to convert a declining veteran contract into expirings and flexibility, buying time to reassess as Flagg’s development clarifies the next competitive window.

As with most trade-season exercises, this one lives firmly in theory. But as hypotheticals go, it checks the right boxes.

Logical. Legal. And reflective of where both teams appear to be headed.