Miami Heat: Kyrie Irving may be the Heat’s best shot at making a splash

Making a move for Kyrie Irving may be the Miami Heat’s best shot at making a big splash this offseason.

After falling one game short of their second NBA Finals appearance in three years, you can’t help but feel like the Miami Heat‘s championship window (with this specific core) is slowly coming to a close.

Jimmy Butler will be 33 by the start of next season, Kyle Lowry will be 37 by the time the playoffs begin, P.J. Tucker seems to be on his way out, Duncan Robinson has taken huge steps back in his game, Tyler Herro is about to sign a max contract extension (with the Heat or another team), and they don’t have a ton of financial flexibility to work with in free agency.

Sooner rather than later, and perhaps at some point this season, the Heat is no longer going to be considered a championship contender. Instead, it will look more like a team with two of its top 4 players being past their prime.

If Miami wants to remain in the title hunt heading into next season, it’s becoming abundantly clear that they need to make a splash or a significant addition this offseason.

Whether that’s a frontcourt player that fits next to Bam Adebayo or a game-changing wing or guard is irrelevant. What’s clear is that an upgrade needs to take place. The problem, however, is that the Heat doesn’t have many options at the moment to make it happen.

They won’t be able to sign one in free agency, without a sign-and-trade option. And even then, there’s almost no player even on the table. Bradley Beal is probably going to re-sign with the Washington Wizards, Zach LaVine is rumored to do the same, as is James Harden and others.

Christian Wood, who would’ve made some sense for the Heat, was traded to the Dallas Mavericks just before the NBA Draft. John Collins is reportedly on the trade block, but I’m not sure Miami is willing to invest that much asset capital on Collins.

The Los Angeles Lakers aren’t trading LeBron James and the Portland Trail Blazers have basically handed over the keys of the franchise to Damian Lillard.

But there is one possible move that remains at least an outside option for the Heat. And that’s a pursuit of Kyrie Irving.

According to reports, the Heat would be one team that Kyrie would hypothetically be interested in. And the Heat probably has enough assets to pull off a sign-and-trade for him. Of course, none of that is ever a question for the Heat. At least not this time around.

Instead, the true question is whether the Heat should be interested or not.

It’s not something that’s simple to answer either.

In almost every prior situation, Kyrie has left his teams in disappointment. And only one other time has it resulted in a championship – but that was with LeBron James in Cleveland.

Specifically, in his last two spots, the Celtics and Nets, he’s underwhelmed as an acquisition. Off-the-court concerns aside (and there certainly are some to weigh), there are concerns about whether or not he’s worth the headache.

But for the Heat, acquiring Kyrie may be the only potential splash that is still on the table this offseason. Short of something surprising happening over the course of the next week.

Miami has always been a franchise that prioritizes winning and talent. Has that changed? Would Kyrie be the exception? I guess we’re all going to find out this week. A few years ago, I’m sure the Heat would’ve jumped at the opportunity to land Kyrie. Now, perhaps not so much.