Getty Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard defends Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks.
Pat Riley and the Miami Heat are almost always in the market for star-level talent. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, this summer will be no different. He said Miami has plenty of assets they’d be willing to offload but that it might not be enough for them to land a big fish this year.
“They have draft picks at their disposal, and they potentially have tradeable contracts, and I think they’re going to go hunting for a star,” Windhorst said on the June 13 episode of ESPN’s “Get Up. “I don’t know if they’ll get one. I don’t know if it’ll all break their way.”
After only 44 regular-season wins but a trip to the NBA Finals, which ended in a loss on June 12, the Heat could look to improve via trade, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
Windhorst was coy about stars who could be available on the trade market.
“I’m not going to sit here and tell you who it is because I’ll get aggregated [Sorry, Windy!], but there are players they’re keeping an eye on and they have the ability to do it, especially if a player says, ‘Hey, send me to Miami,’” Windhorst said. “And they have a little window here before the second apron kicks in where they may be able to spend a little money. They have some draft picks they can trade. After the draft, they can access their 2030 pick. They have the 18th pick in this draft, not that that’s super interesting. I don’t think they can beat all comers on a star trade but if a player says, ‘Send me to Miami’ in the next two weeks, they are not in the worst position of all time to make it.”
Damian Lillard Calls Heat ‘Obvious’ Trade Destination
Speaking of players saying, “Send me to Miami,” Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard essentially did that.
On the June 7 episode of “The Last Stand,” Lillard told Brian Custer that the Heat were the most appealing of all the teams he’s been tied to.
“Miami obviously,” Lillard said when about potential destinations. “Miami is the obvious one. And Bam [Adebayo] is my dog. Bam is my dog, for real. But, I mean, I think Miami the obvious one. Brooklyn is another obvious one ’cause Mikal Bridges is my dog too.”
The Miami Heat Tried to Trade for Kyrie Irving, Will Chase Him in Offseason
Another name recently linked to Miami is Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks. The superstar guard’s contract expires this summer, making him an unrestricted free agent. It’d be somewhat surprising if he was to leave Dallas, solely because he spent only half a season there after being traded in February.
Before the Mavs landed Irving in February, the Heat tried to acquire him, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, and might take another swing at him this summer.
“Just to give you a glimpse of what they’ve looked at over the last several months, they made an offer to the [Brooklyn] Nets for Kyrie Irving at the deadline from what I’m told, right before he got traded to the Mavericks before the deadline,” Charania said June 13 on FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back.” “They’re going to explore seeing what the star market is out there, Do they circle back on Kyrie Irving?”
