NBA Rumors: Celtics Rival Could Make Run At Kyrie Irving

The Denver Nuggets beat the Heat in Game 5 of the 2023 NBA Finals at Ball Arena on Monday, and Miami is unlikely to rest on its laurels with the same roster next season.

The Heat made an incredible run to the Finals as the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed, and they knocked out the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics. But they failed to score over 100 points against the Nuggets, which highlighted a need for more scoring around Jimmy Butler.

President of basketball operations Pat Riley is notorious for doing everything he can for Miami to upgrade its roster, and this summer likely won’t be an exception.

The Heat already are linked to Damian Lillard with his status with the Portland Trail Blazers up in the air. The Athletic’s Shams Charania and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst believe Miami is bound to make some type of move for a star player before the new collective bargaining agreement makes roster-building more difficult for teams.

Charania revealed on FanDuel TV that Miami tried to trade for Kyrie Irving before the 2023 trade deadline. The Mavericks won the race for the All-NBA guard, but a disastrous end to the season puts his status in Dallas up in the air.

Irving is a free agent, but the Mavericks could work out a sign-and-trade to acquire a player like Tyler Herro and other pieces. Irving’s potential arrival to South Beach certainly would add a new wrinkle to the Celtics-Heat rivalry since Boston fans continue to hold a grudge against the star guard.

The 31-year-old would add more outside shooting and another ball-handler to the team, especially with Gabe Vincent and Max Strus entering free agency this summer.

While the Celtics try to figure out their plans to improve their roster, there should be no surprise this offseason when the other Eastern Conference contenders also strive to make splash moves to compete next season.