Kyrie Irving tipped for Miami Heat by NBA executive: "It's gonna take a special organization and coach to deal with the guy"
The Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving is currently serving a suspension. He has had issues with the organization ever since his post of a film that had antisemitic talking points.
Irving’s future with the Nets is in question now, and he may be with a new team before the end of the season. The relationship with the team wasn't great before the season started. Irving sought a trade this summer after the Nets declined to offer him a long-term extension. Irving opted into his player option and stayed but will be an unrestricted free agent after this season.
Irving has not seen much court time since joining the Nets in the 2019-20 season. He has played an average of 34 games per season during his time in Brooklyn. Last season, when Irving refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine it cost him most of the season, playing just 29 games.
Any team that acquires the star point guard will have to have a strong structure in place. An anonymous NBA executive spoke to The Athletic and had a suggestion of a team that could be a good landing spot for Irving:
“It’s gonna take a special organization and coach to want to deal with the guy,” an NBA executive said. “Miami comes to mind, but Miami might say, ‘We’re good; we don’t want to deal with it.’"
NBA executive says it’s gonna take ‘special’ franchise to deal with Kyrie Irving: ‘Miami comes to mind’ heatnation.com/media/nba-exec…
The Miami Heat organization has one of the best reputations in the NBA. The Heat won’t tolerate many off-court distractions and already have strong leadership in place at all levels. The Heat have a solid structure at the top with team president Pat Riley. Riley was a champion as a coach and is well respected.
The Heat also have a strong presence in Erik Spoelstra, who has two championship rings as a coach. He is well respected in the organization and has the full backing of Riley. The locker room also has leaders like Jimmy Butler and Udonis Haslem to keep the Heat culture intact.
Kyrie Irving's relationships usually don't end well
Kyrie Irving has played for three teams since entering the league in 2011. Irving was the No. 1 draft pick for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Rookie of the Year during the 2011-12 season. He was joined by LeBron James in 2014, and the team went to three straight NBA Finals, winning the championship in 2016.
Irving left Cleveland after the 2017 season when he requested a trade during the offseason. Irving did not want to play alongside James anymore. He was then traded to the Boston Celtics.
Irving’s time with the Celtics was short. He was only there two seasons. He had an injury the kept him out of much of the 2017-18 season. At the beginning of 2018 he expressed that he wanted to re-sign with the Celtics, but he did not. Over the course of the season, he had issues in the locker room with teammates and said that he wanted to get closer to his home in New Jersey.
In the offseason Irving became a free agent and signed with the Brooklyn Nets, joining Kevin Durant. This rubbed the Boston fans the wrong way. Now, Irving is in Brooklyn and may not leave on good terms there, either.