NBA Rumors: Kyle Lowry Deals Explored by Heat Ahead of 2024 Trade Deadline

The Miami Heat are reportedly exploring a possible Kyle Lowry trade ahead of the Feb. 8 trade deadline, per the Miami Herald's Anthony Chiang.

"The Heat continues to explore trades involving Lowry ahead of the Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline, according to multiple league sources," Chiang wrote. "Lowry holds value on the trade market with his sizable expiring $29.7 million salary."

The 37-year-old point guard is putting up 8.2 points, four assists and 3.5 rebounds per game this season — all of those numbers down from a season ago.

The Heat sit in sixth place in the Eastern Conference at 24-19, and they're looking for another run to the NBA Finals, though they'll likely need to add a piece to the mix to get through a tough slate of conference opponents.

Lowry was recently pulled from the Heat's starting lineup. Since the start of January, he has averaged just 4.4 points and 3.6 assists per game and has not scored double digits since Jan. 3 when he had 10 points.

The new role could end up working well for Lowry, who has not regularly come off the bench since the 2009-10 season — though finished last season in a reserve role — but the experiment has not paid off yet as Miami lost its first two games with Lowry out of the starting lineup. The Heat have lost their last three games and will take on the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.

If a team decides to deal with the Heat and pick up Lowry, they won't be committing to a lengthy contract. Lowry is in the final year of a three-year, $85 million deal that will make him an unrestricted free agent in 2024, per Spotrac. As Chiang noted, the expiring salary makes Lowry's value higher despite his age and recent struggles.

If Miami is able to land a big piece in exchange for Lowry, the Heat could get the boost they need in their hopeful return to the finals.