Who Should Be The Miami Heat's Main Trade Target?

It's been a rocky start for the Miami Heat although things seem to slowly be heading in the right direction. The team won an overtime thriller against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night, coming back from down 20 points at the half. The fit between Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo has been questionable to start the season but with both being All-Stars, there is faith the two can figure out how to co-exist in the frontcourt.

There has been a lot of talk recently about how the Heat need to add a dynamic guard as that is the team's biggest need at the moment. One name the team has been monitoring is Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving.

Irving, 34, recently returned to the court for the first time since March 2025 after suffering a torn ACL and missing the entire 2025-26 season. So far in his return, Irving has performed admirably, averaging 22.7 points, four rebounds and 4.8 assists through six games played. Heading into this season, Dallas was expected to finish among the bottom teams in the Western Conference. However, with Irving looking like he hasn't missed a beat along with the superstardom emergence from second-year forward Cooper Flagg, they look like a potential Play-In caliber team. The team's relatively early success is making them skeptical about dealing Irving as NBA insider Marc Stein recently reported the Mavericks have no interest in moving on from the nine-time All-Star this season.

With Irving reportedly out of the mix now, there is still another guard who should be high up the Heat's board when looking at guards to acquire via trade: New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray.

Murray, 30, was once viewed as one of the best two-way guards in the entire league but the past few seasons for the 2022 All-Star have not been the strongest. He returned to the court last season following his injury due to a torn Achilles suffered in January 2025. In the brief 14 games he played last year, Murray looked rehabilitated as a player, putting up 16.7 points, 6.4 assists and 5.4 rebounds. To start this season, he looks healthy and strong as a player again. The Pelicans could sell most of their team this year and given Murray's age and decline from the player he was a few seasons ago, he may not be that expensive in a possible trade. He is under contract through 2028.