The Kyrie Irving to Miami rumors are not going away. Dallas has said publicly the Mavericks are keeping Irving to start the season. Miami keeps calling anyway.
The Heat, fresh off adding Giannis Antetokounmpo and Klay Thompson this summer, have made it clear they are all-in on building a title contender. Irving would be the third star and the primary ball-handler in Erik Spoelstra’s system. On paper, it is a fit that makes the Heat the clear favorite in the East for the next two seasons.
The problem for Miami is Dallas’ current position. The Mavericks are trying to figure out how Irving and 19-year-old Cooper Flagg fit together on the floor. Flagg is going to be a superstar. Kyrie is 34 and past his peak years but still one of the best pure scorers in the league. The two-way fit is complicated. The scheme fit is complicated. The timeline fit is complicated.
Dallas has said publicly they want to see how Irving and Flagg work together before making any decisions. That is the right move for now. Trading Irving before you know what you have would be premature. Waiting to trade him at the deadline gives Dallas real information.
But the underlying reality is that Irving is not the long-term answer for Dallas. Flagg is the future. The Mavericks need to be building around him with players in his timeline. Irving does not fit that. Every game where the two are together is data for a decision that will probably happen anyway.
Miami has the assets. Andrew Wiggins is a real player on a real contract. Davion Mitchell is a legitimate NBA guard on a cheap deal. Add in picks and Miami could construct a package that meets Dallas’ asking price. The one hypothetical framework that has been floated is Irving and Sergio De Larrea to Miami for Wiggins and Mitchell. That is a mock, not a report, but the shape is close to what a real trade could look like.
The timing is the question. If Dallas trades Irving before the season, they lose the information about how he and Flagg play together. If they wait until the deadline, they might get a worse return. If they hold him through the year and let him walk, they get nothing.
Miami’s leverage is patience. They can wait. Dallas has to move first. The Heat can afford to keep the door open, keep calling, and keep floating packages until the Mavericks are ready to make a decision.
The season starts in six weeks. The first month will tell everyone whether Irving and Flagg can work together. If the early returns are ugly, Dallas’ phone will start ringing loudly. If it works, Miami has to look somewhere else.
Bet on Miami being persistent. This story is not over.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
