Getty Kyle Lowry of the Miami Heat complains about a call in the second half of their game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on January 03, 2022 in San Francisco.
Although every member of the Miami Heat roster holds some responsibility for their 4-7 start to the season, the struggles of their starting point guard Kyle Lowry have stuck out like a sore thumb.
On the year, Lowry is averaging 13.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game. But his numbers aren’t the only problem. His shooting splits have been lackluster to this point. Lowry is shooting 37.8% from the field and 32.3% from beyond the arc. They are not ideal numbers for a starting point guard, especially if the Heat are looking to be legit contenders this year.
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Heat Urged to Trade for Kyrie Irving
Miami currently sits in 12th place in the Eastern Conference standings, but with more than 75% of the games left to play, their season is still salvageable. The time for the Heat to make a move is not now, but right now, as they can ill afford to dig themselves into an even deeper hole in a loaded Eastern Conference.
One NBA executive told Sam Amick of “The Athletic” that the Heat are just the type of ‘special’ organization to manage the personality of Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving, who could come in and be a major upgrade from Lowry at the starting point guard spot.
“It’s gonna take a special organization and coach to want to deal with the guy. Miami comes to mind,” the executive said.
“But Miami might say, ‘We’re good; we don’t want to deal with it.’ … But if you don’t have the reputation with one of your players or the coach or the front office guy, where you’re one of the larger figures in the league, I just don’t know why you take that on because he seems pretty hard to manage.”
NBA executive says it’s gonna take ‘special’ franchise to deal with Kyrie Irving: ‘Miami comes to mind’
Kyrie’s Availability Biggest Concern for Potential Suitors
Despite having several opportunities to issue a direct apology in response to the backlash he received for sharing the link to a film that contained anti-Semitic tropes last month, Irving chose not to. As a result, the Nets handed him a suspension of at least five games and have required him to complete a list of tasks before being eligible to return, per NBA insider Shams Charania of “The Athletic”.
But beyond being disciplined by Tsai and the Nets, Irving may also have to answer to an even higher power. He is scheduled to meet with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Tuesday, November 8, to have a conference surrounding his decision to share the link to the aforementioned film.
No one knows what is to come from that meeting, but it could result in further repercussions. The executive added that Irving’s availability is the biggest question mark when evaluating if the Heat should make a trade for him.
“You don’t know when he’ll be available. He already wasn’t that durable coming into it, but now he’s sitting out for vaccinations, he’s making these comments,” the executive added.
“So, he’s the opposite of a commodity, man, which is what you want a player who’s getting paid that much to be — a trustworthy (person where) you know exactly what you’re gonna get. And even if you know they have an injury profile where they might miss a certain number of games, you can bake that into the equation. With him, it’s just so hard to discern when he’s going to be available and what makes him tick.”
The Heat will get a chance to right the ship in their next game against the Charlotte Hornets.