NBA Insider links Miami Heat and Kyrie Irving

"This is the latest wrinkle in an ongoing development, where, we have said this, I have said this in the past here on our Bleacher Report insider livestreams that the NBA world, rival executives, they are not convinced that Kyrie Irving is not going to finish this season as a Dallas Maverick," Fischer continued.

The 2016 champion was traded to the Mavericks halfway through the 2022-2023 after asking out of Brooklyn. (The Heat, along with the Mavs, both Los Angeles-based teams, the New York Knicks and the Philadellphia 76ers, were among Irving's preferred destinations). The season after, Irving co-starred alongside Luka Doncic in the team's run to the 2024 NBA Finals.

"So, is Kyrie a trade candidate? I'm saying yes. Until the trade deadline comes and goes and Kyrie Irving is still going to be on the Dallas Mavericks' roster, I think the whole league is looking at Kyrie as a potential trade candidate," Fischer said.

One season after the Mavs' Finals run, however, saw the shocking Doncic trade happen, followed by a couple of losing seasons, while Irving recovered from a torn ACL in the process. After trading away Anthony Davis and coming to a buyout agreement with Klay Thompson, the franchise quickly pivoted from a championship contender to a team rebuilding around No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg.

"I haven't heard Houston is looking at Kyrie Irving right now, but the past connections with Ime Udoka, the past connections with Kevin Durant, the fact that the Rockets certainly needed point guard play last year. Now, they're very happy with Fred VanVleet back but that's an early team that people are wondering, depending on how things go, 'Would they want to add a Kyrie Irving at some point in time?," Fischer said. "That spot, [and] Miami, with their point guard depth are the early, early, early spots that people around the league are looking at as potential Kyrie Irving trade destinations."

The Heat, widely cited by pundits as a team who will look to contend but could still be missing some perimeter-oriented shot creation and playmaking, can technically make a deal happen. They could package Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell's contracts to match salaries.

They could also replace Mitchell's salary with Bobby Portis or Nikola Jovic, or replace Wiggins' salary with both Portis and Jovic. Additionally, they would likely have to sweeten the pot by offering their last tradeable first round pick, a 2029 conditional first rounder, and/or Ryan Conwell, the No. 37 pick in this year's Draft.

All of these scenarios, however, would take the Mavs past the roster limit, meaning a third team would likely have to get involved. A lot can change between now and the trade deadline, but having to potentially offer a couple of important starters, along with young players and/or their last tradeable first rounder would probably seem like a hefty commitment for the Heat to make, despite Irving's pedigree. Of course, that might not even be a palatable offer for the Mavericks either.

Interestingly enough, ESPN segment recently aired a segment about Kyrie Irving's future with the Dallas Mavericks, which featured longtime Dallas-based reporter Tim McMahon and longtime NBA reporter Marcus Spears. Meanwhile, Irving more recently acknowleged that his future with the Mavericks isn't under his control.

"We've already heard some very positive early returns about what he's looked like in Dallas minicamps and offseason scrimmages. I think when Kyrie's back on the floor and showing that he's beyond his injury concerns, then there will be increased trade interest coming inbound in Dallas," Fischer continued.

In 36 minutes per game in 2024-2025, Irving averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.3 steals, converting on 43.7 percent of his field goals and 40.1 percent of his threes.

"Now, the Mavericks do not own their first round pick this season, so Dallas is not incentivized to trade out all their veterans and bottom out and play the Lottery, especially with all the Lottery reform rules this year," Fischer said. "However, Dallas certainly could benefit from getting multiple first round picks if they can for Kyrie Irving's services, or one first round pick, veteran players back, young players back, what have you."

In the 2024 Playoffs, Irving averaged 22.1 points, 5.1 assists, 3.7 rebounds and a steal per game, where he sank 47.6 percent of his field goals and 39 percent of his threes.