The Miami Heat were one win away from facing the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals, but the Boston Celtics ruined their plans, eliminating them from playoffs contention at home after a hard-fought series. The Heat surprised many people with their performances this campaign, clinching the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference against the favorites.
However, their current roster wasn’t enough to get past Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and co., and now the Heat will try to land another star that can help them return to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2020.
It’s been reported that anybody not named Jimmy Butler or Bam Adebayo is on the trade block right now, and this could be good news for the Heat. According to a Western Conference executive, the Floridian could land Kyrie Irving or Bradley Beal this summer if they make the right moves.
These two players have been on the Heat’s radar before, and now seems to be the right time for them to make a move. Talking with Sean Deveney of Heavy, this executive broke down how a three-team move could facilitate an Irving or Beal move for them.
The exec — who works for a Western Conference team — recently told Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney that OKC is the ideal landing spot for Westbrook, who failed to make an impact in La La Land this past season.
“The most likely scenario is still Russ ending up back in Oklahoma City, they can absorb him into cap space, give him a year where he can get back to being himself and grab a couple of picks in the process,” the exec said.
“It might not be the best thing as far as development goes, but it would be good for the fan base and they’d come away with some assets for it. It’s the dream scenario for Russ and for the Lakers, really, too, if they get another team to go along with it and come away with a player or two who actually fits.”
This is an interesting idea, but adding the Heat would make things easier for everybody. If Miami enters the conversation, they could clear space to welcome Kyrie or Bradley this offseason.
“So you would get a three-team thing going, with Russ in Oklahoma City and a team like Miami if they really want to create space for Kyrie Irving or [Bradley] Beal, they can send Lowry and [Duncan] Robinson to the Lakers. And they’d have to chip in picks to make it worthwhile for the Thunder.”
Miami looked like a lost team after the 2018/19 season, and they found a way to make a big move and land Jimmy Butler, who took them to the Finals the next year. After that, they’ve tried to add more talent to their roster to compete for the championship. This season, they were very close to making it to the Finals again, but the Celtics had different plans.
This offseason, they could land a player that will take them to the next level, but the competition will be hard for both Irving and Beal. Still, the Heat are always an attractive destination, so don’t sleep on them during these negotiations.
