In a recent piece from Miami Heat insider Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, he addressed the possibility of adding one final piece to this new Giannis Antetokounmpo-led build.
And not just to fill the 15th standard roster spot, but a piece that could be acquired capable of putting the Heat ‘over the top’ in their championship aspirations. He added clarity on that type of needle-moving pickup is not available at the moment, but perhaps could be a possibility at the February trade deadline or next summer— which would be heading into year 2 of the Antetokounmpo era.
“At the moment, nobody. But that could change at February’s trade deadline. It could change next summer, if a former All-Star past his prime decides to sign with the Heat for the full nontaxpayer midlevel exception, a mechanism Miami has preserved for the 2027 offseason.
Three former All-Star guards who have been a source of speculation — Kyrie Irving, Zach LaVine and Jrue Holiday — would all boost the Heat’s title hopes. But it’s difficult to see a path for Miami to acquire Irving and Holiday.”
– Barry Jackson via Miami Herald
It is worth noting that the Heat are working with a depleted draft capital after emptying out their asset inventory in the Antetokounmpo deal. They have tradeable contracts like Nikola Jovic and Andrew Wiggins, but their biggest opportunity to improve the roster will likely come from the buyout or free agent market next summer.
1. Kyrie Irving
Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving is heading into his age-34 campaign coming off an ACL tear. He’s also had a shaky injury history in the years leading up to that, but he’s undoubtedly the biggest name out of the three stars that Jackson linked as a possible future Heat target. The fact that Irving’s age doesn’t line up with Cooper Flagg’s timeline at 19 years old makes his future in Dallas questionable moving forward.
Irving, when healthy, is still capable of being a 1B superstar alongside Miami’s Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo core. He last averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.3 steals on efficient 47.3% shooting and 40.1% from deep in the 2024-25 season. The Heat are missing that type of proven clutch-time bucket getter that can create his own offense. Irving fits that description perfectly.
He is set to have a player option heading into next summer, where he can become an unrestricted free agent. Perhaps the Mavericks opt to settle to get something of trade value at the deadline rather than have Irving walk for nothing.
2. Zach LaVine
Zach LaVine is another former All-Star that will be entering the final year of his contract with the Sacramento Kings. He was a potential buyout candidate this summer, but the Kings ultimately held onto the veteran guard.
Those buyout rumors could emerge again come February or be a midseason trade candidate. The fact that LaVine’s bloated $48 million salary is set to expire after this season makes him an attainable target even if it’s through trade— as Miami could either let LaVine walk entirely next offseason or negotiate a much more affordable deal once he is a free agent. Similar to Irving, LaVine is another shot creator and three-level scorer that would instantly provide a need in the Heat’s rotation.
3. Jrue Holiday
A path to Jrue Holiday, who has been linked in Heat rumors for several years now, is arguably the most difficult out of these three players. He is still under contract throughout the entirety of the 2027-28 season before getting a player option to enter unrestricted free agency.
Holiday’s age and salary make him a tough target to trade for, as he’s owed nearly $35 million for this upcoming season at the age of 36. However, he has been another rumored buyout candidate— especially with the Portland Trail Blazers attempting a three-point guard lineup with Ja Morant and Damian Lillard in the fold.
If Miami can get him on a buyout midseason, that would be a massive upgrade to the team’s point guard depth to add a championship experience two-way skill set at a discounted price tag.
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I have a feeling if Jovic shows signs of life in the mojo department, he and Wiggins will be on the chopping block for either KD or Kyrie. Either player would move Miami into the top 4 teams in the east, at minimum…and possibly the favorite spot above Knicks, Sixers, etc.
justice dept opens criminal investigation against clippers .theyve got a problem balmer and kawhi in the same cell
Drop Toronto to #10.
there must be some good evidence that they misbehaved illegaly clippers cant be to happy with pablo torre.maybe torres a lakers fan.if im kawhi id be a little nervous here might effect his game sort of like it did to our terry.i swear rozier was missing shots on purpose lots of his misses were not even close it was pretty obvious to me a guy with his ability was missing on purpose
No, he was not missing on purpose. He knew that there was an ongoing investigation against him about manipulating games. Why would he purposely miss shots when he knew that he was being investigated for that? He may have been missing shots because he was distracted by the investigation.
those were not nba misses intentional not sure distracted maybe
Stop being silly!
no kawhi they go from top 4 in east to prob bottom 4.that is the definition of a difference maker.if we lose greek due to injury same thing.pray for healthy greek while hes here
Facade. Token prosecution. Gotta look like they are doing something.
barry melrose dead dam only 70 sad news great announcer
I remember him coaching the L.A. Kings in the 80’s during the Gretzky years.
yes great hair made it big on espn.great commentator
NHLs version of Pat Riley back then.
riley was slick looking melrose id say was sm cool looking great hair
That photo was taken like 3 years ago. My wife says that since then I’ve gotten younger looking and more handsome…but she lies alot.
West Coast in the house.
I’m a joker
I’m a smoker
I’m a midnight toker
I sure don’t want to hurt no one
dodgers playing a aaa team this weekend
Brewers and Dodgers are the teams to beat. AL sucks for the most part. Ohtani on 14 day disabled list. Should be back healthy by playoffs.
Irving and Holiday are great players. Why putting LaVine, which is a bad player, in this company, is beyond me.
Having Irving or Holiday makes Heat a contender team, no doubt about it.
No doubt. And, I agree, it’s a down step to LaVine. But, realistically, he’s the one we might be able to get, at least in the not too distant future. Wow, if we got Irving, that would be thrilling!
I would take Irving or Holiday in a heartbeat.
u know lavigne is a sky walker to i remember young zach in dunk competition he could keshad fly.hes on norms level easily.who u got pelle klay or zach 21 47 39 career heaters??forget score in the game if u had to pick one guy for your team.im taking zach thats me heaters who u taking sm rc 30 vagi
There was only one “Skywalker” and he played years ago. LaVine is an overpaid pretender. His defense has dropped off the table last 3 years.
watch the dunk contest with him theres been plenty of skywalkers wasnt the ex knick called kenny skywalker walker i believe sm
I’ve never seen Avril jump that high? Have you? Sounds Complicated.
LaVine is not a bad player, you cannot average career 20.7 ppg on 54.5 eFG% as the top line on every opponent scouting report and be a bad NBA player. He didn’t play enough games last year to be ranked on the gravity scores but Klay was 6th, Duncan 9th, Powell 15th. LaVine would probably be around Powell, contract aside he would be a great addition to the team for that alone, although I like Klay’s fit over LaVine on this team.
He is a scorer. A good one. But that’s all he is.
A similar player then Herro.
We all know, that Herro wasnt exactly beloved around here, Lavine is just a much worse version of him.
He also didn’t have any success with his teams, which is also sign of his quality. A did watch some of Chicago games when he was there, because of Goran. Inconsistent, selfish, not smart.
I would put him in the same category then Russell and Cam Thomas, two players on their way out of the league.
Lavines next contract will be a vet minimum, hopefully not in Miami.
LaVine won’t be going from a max contract to a vet minimum next year in his early 30s, that is absurd.
One look at Thomas and LaVine career numbers shows they are nothing alike as players. Thomas with a career 49.4 eFG% is 5% below LaVine’s, 34% 3FG is 5% below LaVine’s.
In Thomas’ best scoring season 2024-25 he averaged 24 on 51.3% eFG. That year LaVine averaged 23.3 on 60.9 eFG%, almost 10% higher than Thomas. LaVine improves the shooting of teams he is on, Thomas takes the available shots while not impacting the shooting.
For Herro or any player what does it matter what some of a fanbase thought of him, those perceptions had nothing to do with reality and on court ability, they were based on blaming him as scapegoat along with Bam. It happens every year with every team and is always superficial. Will never forget how Toronto fans blamed Siakam the same way for the team not winning before he was traded to Indiana.
He collects 4 play off games in his 12 season in the league and 1 win. He is not exactly the winner.
Chicago with him in the main role was a definition of mediocrity. And kings are by far the worst team in the league.
Look, you are stats guy, which is ok. I m more of a visual one, which prizes skills, defense, grit, winning over athletism and personal stats. That view is more often in Europe, but not in US.
His contract is one of the worst in the league. I cant imagine anybody to give him more then a vet min next year . And why they should?
Ok, maybe he is better then Thomas, but he is not better then then Beal or Derozan or Thompson or THJ. Those are below 10 mill a year player.
My point is LaVine and Thomas aren’t comparable. One is on a max contract because he is a good NBA player, one is a marginal NBA player. The average NBA team shoots around 54% eFG. The top offenses shoot around 57-58%. If you put all players on the court who shoot like LaVine at his best you will have the #1 shooting team in the league by 2-3%. If you put all players on the court who shoot like Thomas at his best, you’ll have one of the worst shooting teams in the league. This is purely about scoring to show how different they are in that, before even getting to the differences in playmaking, defense, professionalism in their games.
On your list LaVine is the clear best player over anyone but Thompson IMO and it’s not really a debate. LaVine is a better shooter and defender than DeRozan and Hardaway who are playing better than Beal right now.
And you’re talking about the record of teams with LaVine as a #1 option to prove he is not a good player, but on a team like the Heat he’d be the #3 option. There is no way, 0% chance he is playing on a minimum contract next year.
We will see in a year from now. Still think he is a bad player, bringing much less on the table then taking away.
hes not a ss so judging him by how sorry his teams were not fair to him.hes not a diff maker greek kawhi type player.good players like him need a ss to flourish.u put bam on bulls and kings theyre not going anywhere either.21 47 39 your a good player unless your d is herroish.judging by his build and athleticism gotta be ok on d.
imo hes easily better than thjr ,nowaday beal def better.dd no.amen thompson no.norm powell even
we dont blame herro he suks or injured playoff time we blame quitter
LaVine is empty calories. All hat…no cattle. “Winning” what’s that. Show me the money. KD type but more shallow.
Check out LaVine’s rank in points per 100 possessions the last 7 years: 99th percentile, 99th, 98th, 97th, 86th, 95th, 93rd.
https://databallr.com/stats/player/zach-lavine/203897
LaVine is clearly underrated at this point. It’s strange also because DeRozan is not known for playoff success either but was a must sign for people here a month ago.
That was before Klay was signed. IMO the team can use a back-up PG now, not a no defense ball hog shooter. But that’s just me
Empty calories is good description.
zach lavine a bad player vagi your losing some cred on that imo
We will agree about something some day, so I ll get that credit back.
At $215.2M he is overpaid. He isn’t a max player. He just picked up the $49M option on the final year of his contract. That’s more than 3 times Jovic’s annual salary.
bams not max type player either
At least he is a very good two way player. LaVine sucks at defense. So there’s that. Jus sayin.
we’re a contender w/o them but would be better with either one
That signing would be a shortcut from “contenders” to CONTENDERS.
Let this team play it out. Let’s see what we have. I think 2-3 of the under the radar players will come through with better than expected seasons. If they do, the Heat should be in very good shape. If not, someone may shake loose by the trade deadline. There may be a few buyout and trade candidates out there.
This is a good illustration of why none of these three players can likely be added to the team until at least February, and possibly after the season. They all have salaries that would be difficult at best to match. While adding another player, particularly at point guard, would definitely improve the team, I believe that the team already has enough to compete at the highest level this season.
Agreed. I want to see what we look like in January with this current iteration. By then, teams will have adjusted to our playstyle and we can see what we really have as a unit.
b/c not champ level.not enough point getters.kyrie for wiggins id do that deal
kyrie pelle/thompson bam port greek hell yes
It’s not enough. Salaries don’t match. And you’re thinking about what he was, not what he is now.
That’s the part we don’t know.
hasnt played alot lately should be fresh id take a chance on him generational talent hofer top 10 pg all time imo.great player still 25 50 40 guy rc
You don’t know that. And not top 10 all time.
clearly better magic curry stockton isiah around same level iverson dame cp3 who else rc
Look it up and you’ll find out
Nash was pretty good in his Phoenix says.
yes good one nash better at assists kyrie better scorer .would u put earth is flat as a top 10pg i would.would u trade him for wig i would.asking a friend
Yup. Nope. Yup (Wig & Jovic).
nobodys gonna want nikos contract sm thats not reality.if niko is traded anywhere i would have that gm drug tested
If he finds his mojo and begins playing up to his potential, things could change very quickly. I agree with you, for now, Miami is forced to wait for that to happen. I think there are trades that can be had if he begins playing well. He has potential as a point forward and that is a position in high demand these days.
hes got lots of skills none are above average.maybe maybe he can bury some js thats his only hope
Magic, Steph, Big O, CP3, Cousy, Nash, Stockton, The Logo, Thomas, Lillard, Doncic, Clyde, and there are several more arguably as good or better. Irving is definitely there as well, certainly top 20, maybe top 15.
19. Kyrie Irving
Top accolades: One NBA title, three All-NBA selections, nine All-Stars, one Olympic gold medal, one World Cup gold medal, one World Cup MVP
Regular season ranking: 76th in scoring, 102nd in assists, 179th in steals, 466th in blocks
Playoffs ranking: 58th in scoring, 69th in assists, 80th in steals, 171st in blocks, 316th in rebounds
Maybe the best ball-handler in NBA history, Irving will always be remembered for his huge shot at the end of Game 7 in the 2016 Finals that helped the Cavs win their first title. One of the craftiest finishers around the rim, Irving is unstoppable getting in the paint. Despite his tendency to attract drama and miss games, his talent has been irresistible for fans and (many) executives.
youd rather have wig than kyrie on this team?
Why even discuss that if it’s extremely unlikely that that’s going to happen? When we get to February or the end of the season, we can revisit the issue. I’d rather have Magic Johnson, but that’s not going to happen right now either.
cant discuss games now and uncs d lol oh hes not aheater dam pats going for it all in on few rings before greeks to old.hes inquired about kyrie according to the internet.i give it a 35% chance of happening and a 100% chance kyrie will not finish as a mav..this year.lebron loves kyrie so maybe cleveland
I also think Irving will be gone by February. Here? Depends on how team is playing at that point. If the Klay-Wiggins chemistry is back, I don’t think they will trade Wiggins. Portis could be included, but how would Giannis feel about that? If he wants Portis to stay on the team, then he also probably won’t be traded. And if LeBron loves Kyrie Irving, why would Irving end up in Cleveland?
true rc my bad phily doesnt need him .hard to fathom goat not going back to cleveland.i guess.goat wanted to be only player 4 diff teams with a ring.lebron besides being the goat on the ct has to be top 5 smartest players all time.hes like magic was such a smart guy.billionaire like magic.iq def matters in all sports.
I don’t know if it is IQ as much as a physical gift. Dude is built like a huge tight end with guard skills. I think a person of average intelligence with his body could have had a very successful career. The investments are thanks to luck getting in with the right people, not the wrong ones.
u didnt answer my ?
Irving was a better player than Wiggins. Since he hasn’t played in 1 1/2 years, I don’t know if he is better today. If he’s near where he was then yes, mais pour maintenant, je ne sais pas.
“Sont des mots qui vont très bien ensemble
Très bien ensemble.”
Ah, la musique est tres bonne
Tu l’as dit
one internet geeks opinion.name ten better imo geek opinion hes top 10.wonder what goats top 10 list is.
The top 25 NBA point guards of all time include consensus legends such as Magic Johnson, Stephen Curry, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Chris Paul, John Stockton, Jason Kidd, and Steve Nash, with rankings supported by multiple authoritative lists from Fadeaway World, Legit.ng, ClutchPoints, and NewsBreak.
Below is a unified ranking synthesized from the four major lists found in search results. When lists differed, players appearing across multiple sources were prioritized.
Interesting list.
It will be interesting to see how well he recovers from his injury and surgery. I wouldn’t take a chance on him until that question is answered. Could be Oladipo all over again.
Yeah, that’s how I feel. We know how good he WAS. We’d have to see him at least 15-20 games to see if he is healthy and back to form.
I say Mitchell 13 ppg, Klay at least 15ppg, Wiggins 17, Bam 19, Giannis 26. That’s 90. Bench will get 25-30 at least. That’s 115-120 per game.
That plus their defense will put them in elite territory.
If Miami’s defense is as good as I think it can be, the Heat may not need to score 120 points every night (as it did last season) to have a very good record.
Point Differentials average per game
All remaining teams (14-30) gave up more points per game than they scored.
If Miami can reduce opponent’s ppg to the 110-111 range and slightly reduce PPG average to 117-118 range, it can be among the most elite teams in the NBA (+6-8 ppg).
I don’t disagree, but I was trying to point out that I don’t agree with him that there’s not enough scoring in our starting lineup. Then, when adding the bench, it should be more than enough. Portis, Hardaway, Pelle, and company should be able to score at least the 25-30 I mentioned, perhaps more.
w/o herro and unc jeez that doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure we will be better defensively.
If Miami is expected to establish itself as a top tier defensive team, Spo needs to start Larsson. That 5 man group (Mitchell, Larsson, Wiggins, Giannis and Bam) is as good a defensive starting unit as there is in the NBA. Let the rest earn their playing time by producing results (on both sides of the ball).
No defense…no play. I’m expecting some good things from the younger players.
Closing lineup is more important than who starts. Klay fits the best with the starters because of his offball gravity, and can be hidden by four better defenders. Interested to see if Klay can play Powell’s role and help get the team quick starts and leads like last year, then bring Larsson in as 6th man. That is my guess how the thinking would be anyway.
End of 4th quarter score will dictate closing line-up. Depends on whether Miami needs defense or offense. If Thompson can’t defend opposing guards (such as Maxey) I imagine Larsson will be closing.
i think dru is a better defender than dav mainly because hes taller.davs lack of height hurts him alot rc.davs much better offensively though thats not saying much lol
No more Herro or Uncan to cap on so now you gotta go after a brother. What happened to the new and improved h4l with a positive attitude. Lasted about a NY minute.
most bros can guard if there not very ware long legged.name the 5 bro worse def team.ill start with james tre ware kat brunson .all vanilla unc ty luka joker unc again hes so bad
Lol. Unc better defender than Herro. But Herro would have made a far better matador.
There are and have been plenty of ‘bros’ who are not good defenders.
There’s a buttload. Several top offensive players (black & non-black) suck at defense.
Check again.
https://www.nba.com/stats/players/defense?SeasonType=Regular%20Season&dir=D&sort=DEF_RATING
As I’ve stated, I think Mitchell will improve his scoring, and he had one of the best assist to turnover ratios in the league. He is the better player. Dru is a stout defender however.
Fred Van Vleet 6′ in shoes, 6’2″ wingspan
Kyle Lowry 6’0.25″ w/o shoes, 6’4″ wingspan
Davion Mitchell 6′ w/o shoes, 6’4.25″ wingspan
davs short he gets torched alot when he gets taken under hoop for lack of height i have eyes stat man
Taller than FVV, same height as Lowry, two of the best defensive guards in the league and together the closing backcourt for Toronto in 2019
He definitely does not get ‘torched a lot’.
I don’t see that happening so much with Bam and Giannis in the paint. “Off Nights” poa and perimeter defense are very good.
Exactly! If a couple of sleepers come through, the second unit should do just fine.
90 is too much for this group. 80 is more realistic. 40 for the bench.
Which players do you see scoring less than my estimate? I was trying to be conservative about the bench, but you absolutely can be right. I don’t think Portis and Hardaway will average any less than their career averages. So 12 for each. I’d be surprised if Pelle scores less than 12, so that’s 36, not counting Jovic, Richards, Dru, and Simone. Gardner and Conwell will see limited minutes, with Conwell likely spending time with the Skyforce early on. But if he lights it up in training camp, who knows?
Definitely for Klay around 10 would be a good result. I would say Mitchell bit closer to 10, not because he cant score, because he will need to distribute more. I expect Bams offensive numbers would go down a bit, around 17-18, 15-16 for Wiggins. I expect greek score more then 26.
So it should be closer to 80 then 90.
Agree for Portis and THJ and Pelle to. And I believe, Jovic will have to average around 12 too, otherwise he wont play at all. The others will contribute at least 10 points.
Thats 80 for starters and 60 for bench player, or 1 players scoring over 25, two over 15, then 6 players over 10 points, and the rest around 10.
Since there wont be enough minutes for all, or players will be injured, but its good to know, that there is probably around 10 players in the team average at least 10ppg, when playing.
Klay averaged 11.7 with Flagg at PG, I doubt his number will be 10. And I don’t see why Bam’s numbers would go down playing next to Giannis, who should elevate everyone on the team. Pelle’s per 36 was 15.6 ppg, 4.5 FTA and that’s the biggest swing factor for the Heat this year IMO.
_Klay declined every year for several points average in past years. To follow that trajectory, we get around 10 ppg. As I said multiple times, Klay is become an one dimensional player. We shouldnt expect too much form him.
He played <22 mpg last year for a tanking team. Per 36 he was at 19.5 ppg. I don't agree with the emphasis on ppg here, players like Klay provide value on offense regardless of if his shot goes in, but I think he will average more than 10. His game is not one dimensional and never has been, he gets that label because of how good he is at his best skill shooting.
who is giving you negatives? Its not me.
klay gets 15 ppg that would be great dav 13 career year.other 3 should happen.predictions for pelle thjr port 9 9 9???
Pelle, THjr, Port more like 13+/8+/13.