The Kevin Durant sweepstakes are ongoing as the NBA approaches its offseason, and the Miami Heat are among the teams in the mix for the Phoenix Suns star.
One of the big questions when it comes to the Heat is what they’re willing to surrender to make a deal happen. They’ve appeared reluctant to include big man Kel’el Ware in a trade package, and some of the latest comments from Ethan J. Skolnick of Five Reasons Sports may indicate that the Heat aren’t likely to change that viewpoint.
Since the Heat haven’t really seen an “easy” deal out there for the Suns, it sounds like Miami isn’t looking to get anxious and overpay.
“The Heat haven’t really seen an easy deal for PHX since rival teams are making players unavailable ([Jaden] McDaniels; [Stephon] castle; several on HOU)… the plan seems to be the default play,” wrote Skolnick via Discord on Saturday night. “So I don’t see them blinking on ware”
On Sunday morning, Skolnick added that the Heat are “very much in the game.”
“Good morning,” Skolnick wrote. “I won’t say who is in the lead. But the Heat are very much in the game.”
ESPN’s Shams Charania listed the Heat, San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets as Durant’s preferred trade destinations in a report on Saturday night.
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the Suns will only explore a trade with those teams.
A Saturday night report from The Athletic offered a similar sentiment, indicating that Durant’s preference “won’t likely be a deciding factor this time around.” It’s also worth noting that this report didn’t specify the Heat as one of Durant’s preferred landing spots, but Charania’s aforementioned report, which came out shortly after, did.
“Yet in contrast to the February trade deadline — when a Durant deal to Golden State was nixed by the Warriors because he’d made it clear he didn’t want a reunion tour — his preference won’t likely be a deciding factor this time around,” wrote The Athletic’s Sam Amick, Jon Krawczynski and Kelly Iko. “League sources say Durant prefers to play for the San Antonio Spurs or the Houston Rockets, for example, but there are complicating factors with both of those negotiations that (for now, at least) make a deal look unlikely. From there, the list of reported suitors — with Minnesota and Miami among them — is somewhat similar to the one from four months ago. There is always a chance, of course, that a wild-card team surprises us all with a late push as well.”
The Heat reportedly don’t think that the upside of a possible Durant trade is as much of a “slam dunk” as their deal for legendary big man Shaquille O’Neal was years ago. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t see value in trading for Durant, a 15-time All-Star who is still producing at a high level despite his age.
It’s been suggested that the Heat’s offer for Durant could end up being the “most enticing” option the Suns get from their perspective. Whether or not that does become the case could depend on who and what Miami is willing to include.
Durant this season averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 52.7 percent from the field and 43.0 percent from 3-point range. Although he’s 36 and will turn 37 in September, the Heat would quickly become a more intriguing team in the Eastern Conference if they were to acquire him.