The Miami Heat finally won a game in the 2026-2027 season after five tries. Many fans and pundits had already begun to count them out as potential contenders.

Although there were changes made to their gameplan in the win that should leave Heat fans optimistic going forward, (more pick-and-roll with their star bigs, more defending screens at the level and blitzing), the Heat could still be another shot creator short.

Kyrie Irving, who has been connected to the Heat multiple times in the past, is being brought up again by NBA insiders as a potential trade candidate.

“They are going to be monitoring Kyrie Irving, but there's gonna be several teams monitoring Kyrie Irvimg. The question is, if you’re Miami, what can you give for Kyrie Irving?" ESPN's Shams Charania said, appearing on the Pat McAfee show. "I believe they have one first round pick eligible to be traded. Is that enough to get Kyrie Irving? My sense, is probably not. I think the price would be higher than that.”

This isn't the first time this season that an insider has specifically mentioned the Heat as a team who might be interested in Irving's services. Last time, it was Bleacher Report insider Jake Fischer in late September.

"Kyrie Irving trade scenarios are something that I think we're going to be talking about between now and the February 11th trade deadline as well. There's already been some rumblings of the Heat having interest in him," Fischer said.

Also, before that Fischer reporting came out, ESPN interestingly aired a segment about Kyrie Irving's future with the Mavericks, which featured longtime Dallas-based reporter Tim McMahon and longtime NBA reporter Marcus Spears. Meanwhile, Irving acknowleged that his future with the Mavericks isn't under his control.

The Heat could put together a package centered around Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell's contracts to match salaries. They could also replace Mitchell's salary with Bobby Portis or Nikola Jovic, or replace Wiggins' salary with both Portis and Jovic.

Additionally, they would likely have to sweeten the pot by offering their last tradeable first round pick, a 2029 conditional first rounder, and/or Ryan Conwell, the No. 37 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

All of these scenarios, however, would take the Mavs past the roster limit, meaning a third team would likely have to get involved, unless the Mavs are willing to part with two or three more players in a deal.

Fischer previously mentioned the Houston Rockets as a team that could make sense for Irving given his connections with Rockets coach Ime Udoka and megastar Kevin Durant, combined with how close it is to Dallas, while still not paying state personal income tax.

Another team that could make sense, long being rumored to be looking for another shot creator, is the Detroit Pistons. Both the Rockets and Pistons have more to offer than the Heat when it comes to draft capital.

The Heat, along with the Mavs, both Los Angeles-based teams, the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers, were among Irving's preferred destinations after asking to be traded from the Brooklyn Nets.

LeBron James' championship co-star in 2016 was dealt to the Mavericks in the 2022-2023 season. The season after, Irving co-starred alongside Luka Doncic in the Mavs' run to the 2024 NBA Finals.

One season after the Finals run, however, saw the shocking Doncic trade happen, followed by a couple of losing seasons, while Irving recovered from a torn ACL in the process. After trading away Anthony Davis and coming to a buyout agreement with Klay Thompson, the franchise quickly pivoted from a championship contender to a team rebuilding around No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg.

Irving has played four games his season, in which he's averaging 18 points, 3.8 assists and 3.3 rebounds, converting on 49 percent of his field goals in just 27 minutes per game.

In 36 minutes per game in 2024-2025 season, Irving averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.3 steals, sinking on 43.7 percent of his field goals and 40.1 percent of his threes.

For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.

Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at @tropicalblanket on Twitter.