The Brooklyn Nets reportedly would be interested in Miami Heat stars Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler or Tyler Herro in a potential Kyrie Irving trade.
The Heat would prefer to move off of Kyle Lowry, who is owed a hefty salary for the rest of this season and next season.
“The Nets would be interested in Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, or Tyler Herro coming to Brooklyn in a potential Irving trade,” HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto wrote. “Miami would prefer to move off Kyle Lowry, who’s owed $29.7 million next season.
“While Pat Riley has never shied away from a talented but controversial player in the past, it’s hard to logistically see how Miami can acquire Irving.”
Irving opted into his player option for the 2022-23 season with the Nets over the summer, but the two sides haven’t been able to agree on a long-term extension that would keep him with the franchise beyond the 2022-23 campaign.
The Nets may look to honor Irving’s trade request since they could lose him for nothing when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the offseason.
This season, Irving is averaging 27.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 37.4 percent from beyond the arc.
He’s missed some time for off-the-court issues, but there is no doubt that he is still an extremely talented player. The Heat could use his scoring presence at the guard position, but it wouldn’t make sense for Miami to move off of one of its stars to do so.
The Heat have Butler, Adebayo and Herro already locked into long-term deals, so it would be a major risk to move any of them for half a season of Irving’s services.
Trading Lowry certainly makes much more sense for the Heat, but the Nets are surely going to try to get as much as they can for Irving if they do deal him.
Right now, both the Heat and Nets are fighting for playoff positioning in the Eastern Conference. Brooklyn is the No. 4 seed in the East and has relied heavily on Irving of late with Kevin Durant out of the lineup due to a knee injury.
The Heat hold the No. 6 spot in the conference and have been playing much better in recent weeks and months.
The league’s trade deadline is set for Feb. 9, so it will be interesting to see if Miami and Brooklyn are able to find a deal for Irving that works for both sides by then.