Kyrie Irving is set to become a free agent, and there is reportedly a chance he could be pursued by one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
Shams Charania of The Athletic said Tuesday that the Miami Heat are going to “explore the star market” this summer in the wake of their NBA Finals loss to the Denver Nuggets. One position of need for Miami is point guard, and Irving is a player the Heat have apparently expressed interest in before.
“They made an offer to the Nets for Kyrie Irving at the deadline, from what I’m told, right before he got traded to the Mavericks,” Charania said. “I think there’s been some understanding that they’re trying to get Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo another piece that can take the load off, especially during the regular season.
“The question is where do they go from here? Do they circle back on Kyrie Irving? There’s gonna be names out there in the marketplace as the draft gets closer next week.”
The Dallas Mavericks seem to want Irving back, but there are no guarantees in NBA free agency. While Irving is said to be recruiting one star player to Dallas, he may change his mind about his future if the Heat have legitimate interest.
The Heat have lost in the NBA Finals in two of the past three seasons. They made it to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals last year. You can understand why they feel they are one piece away from getting over the hump, though there may be one more intriguing option than Irving if they want to improve their backcourt.
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