The Miami Heat may not be done making noise after already landing Giannis Antetokounmpo, and now another massive name has been thrown into the mix: Kyrie Irving.
Irving’s future in Dallas is already drawing league-wide speculation. The Mavericks have pushed back on trade interest all offseason, but that hasn’t stopped other teams from wondering whether that stance holds once the season starts and the Feb. 11 in-season trade deadline gets closer.
“The Mavericks, as we've been writing since mid-June, have consistently swatted away trade interest this offseason in nine-times-an-All-Star guard Kyrie Irving. Rival teams, however, continue to wonder aloud about how firmly Dallas will stick to that stance once the season begins and the next in-season trade deadline on Feb. 11 gradually approaches.
The primary factor fueling that curiosity, of course, is that fact that Irving is 34 and Mavericks star forward Cooper Flagg is 19. Not your average age gap between the team's two best players,” The Stein Line’s Marc Stein wrote.
If Dallas ever opens the door, Miami is being floated as a possible landing spot. Heat RoundTable’s Sean Jordan believes a deal would center on Andrew Wiggins and Nikola Jovic going out to Dallas.
“Kyrie Irving has been included in trade discussions throughout the entire offseason and the Heat could be a destination even after all of their offseason acquisitions. A trade for Irving would most likely include Andrew Wiggins and Nikola Jovic as the two main outgoing pieces,” Jordan wrote.
That kind of move would only add to what has already been a stunning summer in Miami. The Heat already swung one of the biggest deals of the year when they traded for Antetokounmpo.
“The Milwaukee Bucks are trading franchise icon Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to the Miami Heat for Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks (including No. 13 in Tuesday's NBA draft), one pick swap and one second-round pick, sources told ESPN. The Heat are sending to Milwaukee unprotected first-rounders in 2031 and 2033 along with No. 13, a pick swap in 2030 and a 2033 second-rounder, according to sources," ESPN's Shams Charania wrote.
If the Heat somehow pulled off an Irving deal on top of that, the roster would become even more staggering. For now, it remains a possibility - but one that fits the way Miami has approached this offseason: all-in.
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For a team that spent much of the conversation facing skepticism about whether its ceiling was high enough, the tone now is much different. Miami is no longer being discussed as a team trying to sneak into the title picture, but as one with the kind of upside that can force the rest of the league to take a harder look at what it might become once the games start. [Read more 🡒]
