Miami Heat Tried To Trade For Kyrie Irving Back In February

Despite coming up short in the end, the run for the Miami Heat through the 2023 postseason was nothing short of impressive. A gritty, hard-nosed team that clawed its way to the 8th seed was able to pull off historic upsets, made it all the way to the NBA Finals with the odds stacked against them.

Heat Made An Offer For Kyrie Irving Before Trade Deadline

They eventually lost to the Denver Nuggets in the championship series, as it seemed that the team simply ran out of gas after being on such a magical and unlikely run.

So what does the future hold for them? Regardless of their successful run, there will very likely be changes needed and made to the roster. The particular core group of players that Miami currently has in place won’t be enough to compete for a championship year after year, and there could be some upgrades coming this summer.

Point guard is a likely focal point. Miami kept a rotation of Gabe Vincent and Kyle Lowry at the position throughout their playoff run, a duo that they are unlikely to run it back with next season. They’ll need to find a way to part with Lowry’s salary, but the Heat will be searching for an upgrade regardless.

They apparently already tried.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported on Tuesday that Pat Riley and company made an attempt to trade for Kyrie Irving during the middle of the season. They made an offer to the Nets in order to acquire Irving, who was eventually traded to the Dallas Mavericks.

Heat Will Be Looking To Upgrade At Point Guard

It comes as no surprise that the Heat were on the search for their next star, as they so often are. But playing the What If game is interesting in this respect, given how the rest of the season played out for both Miami and Dallas. The Mavericks were an abject failure after the transaction, while the Heat of course made history.

Would both sides have been better off if Miami had been able to strike a deal with Brooklyn? Or would Kyrie Irving have had the same effect on the team that he had with the Mavericks?

The rumor mill will continue to turn throughout the summer for Miami. There have long been rumors of the team being interested in Damian Lillard, who may now be warming up to the idea of leaving Portland for South Beach.