With the silliness of the NBA offseason kicking into full swing, two contrasting reports regarding a Miami Heat trade offer for Kyrie Irving came out Friday.
Every year, the soccer world becomes transfixed with what is known as “the silly season” from mid-July through early September. That’s when clubs are allowed to purchase players from each other for (usually) astronomical transfer fees.
The worst part of this yearly tradition — and why it’s considered silly — is the constant rumors that consume both the media and fanbases alike.
Well, similar levels of foolishness are starting to infect the NBA world as we reach the doldrums of the offseason.
For an example, look no further than the Miami Heat’s situation with potential Cleveland Cavaliers trade candidate, Kyrie Irving.
On Friday alone, two completely conflicting reports came out: One that said Pat Riley‘s team made a competitive offer for Irving, and one that said the exact opposite.
First, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN mentioned Miami as one of the teams to make a proposal for the star point guard, along with the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks.
In his own words:
"“The Heat are willing to part with Goran Dragic and Justise Winslow as centerpieces for an Irving trade, league sources said. With the Cleveland-Miami history, there’s little chance for a deal unless the Heat offered an overwhelming package.”"
Then, just a few hours later, every Heat beat writer almost simultaneously tweeted the same thing: Miami hadn’t made any sort of offer.
First to make that claim was the AP’s Tim Reynolds:
Source to AP: Heat have made no offer to Cavs for Kyrie.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) July 28, 2017
He was then backed up by the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson and Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman — two guys as well-connected with the Heat as anyone.
So who are we supposed to believe?
Quite frankly, I have absolutely no idea.
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It’s possible that the offer did happen, and the Heat are trying to publicly cover their tracks. After all, they should have a pretty good team next season — why risk upsetting either of those guys before training camp even begins?
If that offer did occur, Cleveland’s reasoning for leaking it is simple: Set a baseline for future offers, whether they be from Miami or not.
It’s an easy way of telling the rest of the NBA that even an offer featuring two players as talented as Goran Dragic and Justise Winslow won’t be good enough to land Irving.
Or, who knows? Maybe the Cavs leaked a completely fabricated trade proposal with that same intention in mind.
Either way, one thing is certain: We’re starting to teeter on the side of absurdity. My advice to Heat fans is to trust the process (damn, now I have to pay Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers for using their copyrighted phrase) and just wait to see what happens.
The Heat, with or without Irving, will be a fun team to watch next season. There’s no point in freaking out over every single rumor, as teams have agendas when leaking any bit of information.
Next: 5 teams that should trade for Kyrie Irving
Just enjoy the ride; if Miami lands the former Duke stud, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. And if they don’t, that’ll be perfectly all right, too.