The Miami Heat would likely have to give up Justise Winslow in a trade to acquire Kyrie Irving, but what if they didn’t? That would be an intriguing young duo for the Heat.
The NBA world–flat or spherical–is watching the Kyrie Irving situation play out. Fellow Duke Blue Devil Justise Winslow says he’d appreciate being able to call him a teammate.
Irving has asked the Cleveland Cavaliers to trade him, and has listed the Miami Heat as one of his desired destinations, according to multiple reports.
It’s unclear if the Heat have the assets to pull off such a deal–or if Winslow would have to be involved in a trade–but when asked by a child at the Heat’s summer camp at Miami-Dade College about Irving potentially going to the Heat, Winslow spoke favorably of Irving.
Via the South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Ira Winderman:
"“I’m good friends with Kyrie, but it’s not really like free agency. Kyrie doesn’t really have a huge say-so in where he goes,” Winslow said, with Irving under contract for at least two more seasons. “He’s going to get traded. So a lot of it is not in his hands, but I would love to play with Kyrie.”"
Winderman adds that Winslow was simply responding to the question, and clarified that he’s happy with Goran Dragic as the Heat’s point guard.
What’s interesting about this is that Winslow would likely have to be involved in any trade that brought Irving to Miami.
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The Cavaliers are reportedly seeking young players, and Winslow is the best young player the Heat have. Unless Cleveland is especially enamored with Josh Richardson, Tyler Johnson or Bam Adebayo, including Winslow seems unavoidable.
Could the Heat and Cavaliers swap their Duke products?
A trade centered around Dragic, Winslow and Wayne Ellington for Irving and Iman Shumpert works salary-wise.
Depending on the other offers Cleveland gets, however, Miami’s may not be the best.
If teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns are reluctant to include their top-end young players like Andrew Wiggins and Josh Jackson, Miami’s offer could be as good as any. Including them–or valuable draft picks–would be an improvement to any offer the Heat could make.
Winslow has a lot of potential as a two-way wing, but he’s coming off of a wrist injury and shoulder surgery, and there are questions about his jump shot. Players like Wiggins or Jackson (the no. 4 pick in June’s draft) are more valuable at the moment.
Next: Winslow returns to contact work after surgery
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne recently predicted that Miami will land Irving, saying that Pat Riley and Andy Elisburg are as creative as any front office in the NBA. If they are creative enough to land Irving without giving up Winslow, the two could form a high-upside, offense-defense duo that could anchor the Heat for years.
While the chances of that are slim, Riley has surprised us before.