The 2023-24 campaign hasn’t quite gone to plan so far for the Miami Heat. A disappointing 103-95 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night dropped the reigning Eastern Conference champions to 26-24 on the season.
The Heat have already made one significant trade in an attempt to get themselves on the right track by acquiring Terry Rozier, but it seems as if the team needs some firepower. They could get that from Kyrie Irving, and The Athletic has put forth a mock trade that would see Miami land the star guard.
Trade Details
Mavericks Receive: Tyler Herro, P.J. Washington, Caleb Martin, 2029 First Round Pick (MIA)
Heat Receive: Kyrie Irving, Markieff Morris
Hornets Receive: Grant Williams, Nikola Jovic, Jaden Hardy
After failing in their pursuit of Damian Lillard in the offseason, the Heat would get their star point guard with this move. The Dallas Mavericks, meanwhile, would get two good pieces in Tyler Herro and P.J. Washington. Lastly for the Charlotte Hornets, this trade would get them two talented young players, and Grant Williams, whom they can potentially ship out of town in another trade.
The Heat’s Offense Gets A Much-Needed Boost
A big reason why the Heat have been so mediocre this season is their offense. Miami has an offensive rating of 112.8, which ranks 23rd in the NBA. Irving, who is averaging 25.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game, should certainly help matters on that end.
It is still early doors, but Rozier hasn’t quite had that impact on the offensive end that the Heat would have wanted. He has struggled with his shot, but that shouldn’t be a problem with Irving.
Kyrie’s presence would also be huge in the playoffs. We saw Jimmy Butler run out of steam by the time the Heat got to the NBA Finals last season. Irving would lessen the load on Butler, and might just be the piece the Heat need to get over the line, after losing in the Finals last year and in 2020.
The Mavericks Get Some Reliability
On the surface, this might not seem like the greatest of trades for the Mavericks, as they are giving up a bonafide star. The issue with Irving, though, is that he is starting to miss a fair bit of time due to injury. The eight-time All-Star has only managed to play in 28 games this season and he is not going to get healthier as he gets older.
Herro might also be a better fit next to Luka Doncic. He is a bigger guard at 6’5″ and is more well-suited to playing off the ball than Irving. Herro has also put up solid averages of 21.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.0 steals per game this season.
In Washington, meanwhile, the Mavericks get a versatile forward who can even slot in at center if required. He can guard multiple positions and is a solid contributor on offense as well, having averaged 13.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game this season.
Caleb Martin would be a solid addition too and the Mavericks also recoup some draft capital with this trade that they had lost when they acquired Irving.
The Hornets Get More Building Blocks For The Future
The Hornets would get promising young talents in Nikola Jovic and Jaden Hardy with this trade, and would only part with Washington in the process. Charlotte is currently 10-39 on the season, and very much continues to have an eye on the future. Jovic and Hardy could potentially end up being part of an impressive young core for the Hornets along with LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller in a few years.
With Williams, meanwhile, Charlotte could either choose to keep him around or could flip him to another contender and get more draft capital or young players. This three-team trade would appear to benefit all parties in some ways.
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