It’s not a realistic path for the Heat to chase Kyrie Irving or Jrue Holiday if the goal is to fix the point guard spot, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.
Irving’s contract is the first major obstacle. He’s making $39.4MM this season, and if Dallas ever did make him available, Miami would likely have to send out three players just to make the money work.
The Mavericks already have 15 guaranteed contracts, and Jackson notes they would almost certainly ask for a first-round pick as part of any deal. The Heat don’t have a tradeable first-rounder to offer.
Holiday doesn’t look much more attainable. The Trail Blazers are highly unlikely to buy him out, and his salary makes any trade complicated anyway.
He’s owed $34.2MM this season and has a $37.2MM option for 2027/28. Miami would need to move multiple salaries to Portland, and with the team hard-capped, replacing that outgoing money would be a problem.
Portland would also be looking for draft assets the Heat don’t have.
Andrew Wiggins, meanwhile, is already enjoying the idea of lining up with Klay Thompson again. Jackson relayed Wiggins’ comments from a social media video posted by the team: “He’s one of the most competitive people I played with,” Wiggins said.
“To have him on the squad is going to be amazing. He brings that championship mentality to the team.
This is a year that we can do something special, and he’s someone that can be a big part of it.”
Miami does have a little room to maneuver, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel notes. The Heat have enough cap space to add a 15th player on a veteran’s minimum contract, though they may want to keep that spot open for a buyout addition or for trade flexibility later on.
Another possible source of room could come in January if the team chooses not to fully guarantee Myron Gardner’s contract. Gardner’s deal carries a $500K guarantee on a $2,584,539 salary.
Winderman also made the case that Pelle Larsson could be worth an extension if the price is right. A reader raised the concern that Nikola Jovic’s four-year, $62.4MM extension might already look heavy after an underwhelming season from Jovic, but Winderman pointed to the rising cost of solid bench pieces. He also noted that Thompson and Tim Hardaway Jr. could hit free agency next summer, giving Miami another reason to think about securing Larsson long term.
In Other News...
Kyrie Irvings Return Could Force A Huge Mavs Decision
Kyrie Irving is working his way back from the right knee ACL tear that ended his season, and his return-to-play track has become one of the more interesting moving parts in Dallas. The Mavericks are trying to map out a future that increasingly points toward young talent Cooper Flagg, even as Irving remains an established star whose presence changes the entire shape of the roster.
The uncertainty is what makes this such a complicated front-office storyline. Irvings fit in Dallas still matters on the floor, but his long-term place with the Mavericks is far from settled, and his comeback could sharpen the decision the organization has to make about whether to keep building around him or listen if the market develops around a healthy veteran guard. For now, it is another reminder that Dallas is not just managing a rehab, but a roster direction. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks Already Look Right For Moving On From This Young Guard
The Mavericks latest roster move was really about opportunity cost. In the six-team deal that brought Santi Aldama to Dallas, the club sent AJ Johnson to Memphis, a reminder of how quickly a young player can become expendable when the fit is off and the shot is not falling. Johnsons path has already been unusually unstable for someone still waiting to settle into a real NBA role, and the Mavericks made it clear they were comfortable moving on rather than waiting for development to catch up.
Memphis did not hold onto him for long either, flipping Johnson again as part of a separate trade package with New Orleans. For Dallas, the sequence underscores a straightforward evaluation of a guard whose shooting struggles and positional fit never seemed to line up with what the team needed. The front office has shown it is willing to keep reshaping the roster around cleaner fits, even if it means closing the book quickly on a player who arrived with some upside but left before there was much chance to see it. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks Are Quietly Making Moves Fans Should Be Watching
The Mavericks have spent the offseason adding more than just names to the roster conversation. Alongside the usual player-market chatter, Dallas has also been reshaping its basketball operations group, a quieter kind of work that can matter just as much once the season starts. For a team trying to stay sharp on every edge, those back-office moves are part of the larger picture the front office has been building.
One of the more interesting under-the-radar developments is the way Dallas keeps positioning itself for what comes next, both in the organization and around the league. With other front offices still sorting through unresolved business, including Jalen Durens looming decision in Detroit and the ripple effects of delayed roster moves elsewhere, the Mavericks are making sure their own house is in order. It is the sort of steady churn that does not always grab headlines right away, but often ends up mattering when the season begins to turn. [Read more 🡒]