The Miami Heat may reportedly have a realistic shot at pulling off a Kyrie Irving trade at some point before the Feb. deadline.
Although the Dallas Mavericks remain committed about pairing 19-year-old sensation Cooper Flagg with the 34-year-old Irving, league insiders expect the franchise to eventually move the latter to go full steam ahead with their rebuild.
On Monday’s episode of ESPN’s “NBA Today,” Mavs insider Tim MacMahon noted that rival teams are keenly monitoring the Irving situation.
“Question that’s being asked around the league is, for how long is this fit with Kyrie and the Mavericks?” And it’s not because the Mavericks don’t love Kyrie. They do,” he said.
“It’s not because Kyrie doesn’t love Dallas and hasn’t enjoyed his experience there. He has,” continued the insider. “But they’re building around a 19-year-old prodigy in Cooper Flagg. So could there come a time when it makes sense for both sides to find a contender for Kyrie to go to?
“These are the kind of things that people around the league will be monitoring leading up to the trade deadline,” added MacMahon.
Miami Heat: Kyrie Irving Trade?
Hypothetically, the Heat could package Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell to make the money work for Irving, who has a $42M player option for the 2027-28 season.
In most such scenarios, the incoming star player expects a contract extension (see Jimmy Butler-Warriors, Kawhi Leonard-Raptors) with the new team. As such, if the Heat do trade for Irving, it’ll likely be for the long haul to pair him with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo to form a new Big 3 in South Beach.
The Heat, though, only have limited second-round assets to use in a potential Irving deal. They may require a third team’s assistance to get their man.
As for the Mavericks, they may be hesitant take on Wiggins’ long-term money. The 2022 champion recently signed an extension that runs through the 2028-29 season, paying him over $17M in his age-35 season. Mitchell’s expiring salary ($12.4M) could prove to be a lot more attractive to the rebuilding Mavericks. However, both veterans may have a positive influence on the young Mavs preparing to build around Flagg, Morez Johnson Jr., Dereck Lively II, Max Christie, Moussa Cisse, John Poulakidas and Zaccharie Risacher.
Will Mavs Trade Kyrie Irving?
Irving, who missed the entire 2025-26 season recovering from an ACL injury, is eager to return to Dallas. Both he and Cooper Flagg have spoken candidly about their excitement to play with each other and officially kick start the post Luka Doncic-era.
However, insider Marc Stein also expects rival teams to circle the Mavericks about a potential Kyrie Irving trade close to the Feb. deadline.
“The Mavericks, as we’ve been writing since mid-June, have consistently swatted away trade interest this offseason in nine-times-an-All-Star guard Kyrie Irving,” Stein wrote in his Substack last month.
“Rival teams, however, continue to wonder aloud about how firmly Dallas will stick to that stance once the season begins and the next in-season trade deadline on Feb. 11 gradually approaches.”
Miami Heat Get Major Kyrie Irving Trade Update Amid Mavericks Rebuild