{"id":377816,"date":"2026-08-21T20:54:28","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T20:54:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/377816\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T20:54:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T20:54:28","slug":"projecting-the-2026-miami-heat-lineup-after-klay-thompson-signing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/377816\/","title":{"rendered":"Projecting the 2026 Miami Heat lineup after Klay Thompson signing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Miami Heat have already undergone one of the largest <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/category\/nba\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">NBA<\/a> improvements this offseason after winning the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/bucks-trade-giannis-antetokuonmpo-in-blockbuster-11-player-swap\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Giannis Antetokounmpo trade sweepstakes<\/a>. However, the Eastern Conference franchise is at it again with another former league champion, Klay Thompson.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The former Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks star is embarking on a new chapter for the 2026-27 season with Miami. In many ways, it\u2019s a perfect situation for a veteran player joining a team with a lot of young talent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DcUEdrGNSER\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">ESPN\u2019s Sham Charania broke the news<\/a> Friday as Thompson clears waivers following his time in Dallas. The franchise opted for a contract buyout for the league veteran after spending two seasons with the Mavs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, Thompson won\u2019t be expected to be the main scorer given Giannis\u2019 presence as well as other players like Bam Adebayo and Norman Powell.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/james-harden-joins-exclusive-club-nba-career-earnings\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">James Harden joins exclusive club in NBA career earnings<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s a look at what Miami could put out on the court every night for the upcoming 2026 NBA season.<\/p>\n<p>Projected Heat lineup with Klay Thompson<\/p>\n<p><img data-od-added-loading=\"\" data-od-removed-fetchpriority=\"high\" data-od-replaced- data-od-xpath=\"\/HTML\/BODY\/DIV[@class='elementor elementor-68004 elementor-location-single post-219708 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-nba tag-klay-thompson tag-miami-heat tag-nba mv-content-wrapper']\/*[3][self::DIV]\/*[1][self::DIV]\/*[2][self::DIV]\/*[2][self::DIV]\/*[1][self::DIV]\/*[8][self::FIGURE]\/*[1][self::PICTURE]\/*[2][self::IMG]\" loading=\"lazy\" data-wp-picture-wrapped=\"\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/BASKETBALL-NBA-18.jpg\" alt=\"NBA: Miami Heat-Press Conference\" class=\"wp-image-219714\" \/>Miami Heat forward Giannis Antetokounmpo speaks to reporters during his introductory press conference at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect (Reuters)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Miami certainly jumped a few spots in the East\u2019s pecking order once they brought in Giannis this offseason. However, Thompson\u2019s ability to shoot the three-ball cannot be underestimated in a competitive conference.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Heat boast a talented lineup now with two elite bigs, as well as a versatile backcourt. Thompson provides Miami with a solid role player off the bench to give a break to players like Powell and Wiggins.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Center: Bam Adebayo<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Power forward: Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Small forward: Andrew Wiggins<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shooting guard: Tim Hardaway Jr.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Point guard: Davion Mitchell<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sixth man: Klay Thompson<\/p>\n<p>How will Thompson fit with Miami?<\/p>\n<p><img data-od-replaced- data-od-xpath=\"\/HTML\/BODY\/DIV[@class='elementor elementor-68004 elementor-location-single post-219708 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-nba tag-klay-thompson tag-miami-heat tag-nba mv-content-wrapper']\/*[3][self::DIV]\/*[1][self::DIV]\/*[2][self::DIV]\/*[2][self::DIV]\/*[1][self::DIV]\/*[18][self::FIGURE]\/*[1][self::PICTURE]\/*[2][self::IMG]\" loading=\"lazy\" data-wp-picture-wrapped=\"\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1127\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/BASKETBALL-NBA-DAL-CHI.jpg\" alt=\"NBA: Chicago Bulls at Dallas Mavericks\" class=\"wp-image-219721\" \/>Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson reacts against the Chicago Bulls during the first half at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect (Reuters)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The beauty of this signing for Pat Riley and Co. is that Thompson plays his role effectively and is always a team player first. He sat back and played second fiddle, and at times third, during the Golden State hay day alongside Steph Curry and Kevin Durant.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His new situation in Miami won\u2019t be much different. In fact, given his age the expectations are much lower for the former NBA champion as he enters this next chapter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, Thompson\u2019s shooting prowess gives the Heat an elite scorer from deep. That\u2019s a valued trait in any NBA scorer, especially once the postseason rolls around.<\/p>\n<p>Can the Heat win a title this season?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The short is answer is absolutely yes. Miami\u2019s got a pedigree as a franchise of winning and Spolestra is one of the elite coaches in the league.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The biggest challenge for the Heat is the fact that the New York Knicks proved last season that they are a juggernaut and extremely tough to beat with their combination of offense and defense. Meanwhile, LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers exist in a new era with Jaylen Brown and Tyrese Maxey.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2014\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/subscribe\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Enjoy free coverage of the top news &amp; trending stories with The Big Lead Newsletter\u00a0<\/a>\u2014<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/author\/kylekoster\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Miami Heat have already undergone one of the largest NBA improvements this offseason after winning the Giannis&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":377817,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[54429,123,125,2490,124,2295],"class_list":["post-377816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-klay-thompson","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-heat","tag-miami-news","tag-nba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=377816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377816\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/377817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=377816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=377816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}