Even if he's not the same player he was in his prime, Klay Thompson should be a good addition for the Miami Heat, who signed him to a two-year, $11.48 million contract after he was bought out by the Dallas Mavericks.
Thompson can still shoot the ball lights-out (he shot 38.7% from deep on 7.7 attempts in two seasons in Dallas), and for a Heat team that needs spacing after trading Tyler Herro and losing Norman Powell in free agency, he is a low-risk, high-reward signing at this point.
There is a lot of hype around the Heat after they acquired Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks this offseason (and bested the Boston Celtics in the sweepstakes), and it's easy to see why. When healthy, he is still a top-five player in the NBA, and he should take Miami's already incredible defense to the next level.
But the Celtics shouldn't be scared of a Giannis-led Heat team, and even with the Thompson addition, that shouldn't change.
The Celtics should still be better than the Heat next season
Both of these teams have had eventful offseasons (Miami added Giannis, Thompson, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Bobby Portis - lost Herro, Powell, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, and Kel'el Ware -- Celtics added Paul George, Mitchell Robinson, Chris Cenac Jr., and Mike Conley - lost Jaylen Brown, and I guess Nikola Vucevic), and you could make the case that maybe the Heat have made better moves.
But that doesn't mean they are going to be better than the Celtics next season.
Even though Boston is still facing a lot of criticism for the Brown-George trade, there is still a lot to like about the team's outlook (they bolstered their center depth, Jayson Tatum is now undisputably the team's No. 1 option, George is objectively a great fit in Joe Mazzulla's system on paper, and the Celtics should expect big leaps from guys like Payton Pritchard, Hugo Gonzalez, and Baylor Scheierman).
As for the Heat, their roster is still a questionable fit on paper. The idea of a Giannis-Bam Adebayo pairing in the frontcourt is fun, but this isn't 2K. They don't complement each other well, at least on the offensive side of the ball, because they each do their best work in the paint. There are a lot of ways this duo could cause nightmares in Miami... just not for the right reasons.
The Heat also haven't been all that good in recent seasons
And it's not like Miami has been a force to be reckoned with in recent years. Ever since its NBA Finals appearance in 2023, the team lost in the first round of the playoffs twice (including to Boston in 2024) and missed the playoffs entirely last season after a Play-In loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
In fact, Boston has actually had Miami's number in recent years, having lost to them just once since the 2023-24 season (in the regular season, the Celtics are 10-1 in their last 11 games against the Heat).
This Heat team is very solid, and at the very least, they should be a playoff team next season. But they're also not in a great position to truly compete for a championship (questionable depth and fit, banking on Giannis staying healthy, and they are objectively not a top-tier team in the East).
I've learned to never doubt an Erik Spoelstra-led team, but it's hard for me to see the vision here. The Celtics might not be playing basketball in June next year, but even if they don't, fans should at least feel confident that the team will be in a better spot than Miami will come playoff time.
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