Over the last several weeks, the majority of the news Miami Heat fans have seen has been about rumors linking the franchise to Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell and Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant.
The Heat, who seem to always be sniffing around stars that are seemingly gettable via trade, have reportedly expressed interest in both. Their preference between the two talented players has even been made common knowledge.
However, just because the Heat are interested in both players doesn’t mean that the teams that have them are playing ball. In fact, a recent report indicates that the Heat have yet to gain much traction with either the Jazz or Nets.
“After following his Sixth Man of the Year runaway with a shaky, injury-marred postseason — [Tyler] Herro averaged 13 points on 41% shooting, including an ugly 23% on 3s — Herro is perhaps the most polarizing high-wattage player in the NBA,” Zach Lowe of ESPN wrote. “He has reached this strange point just as he becomes the key veteran in any potential Miami Heat trade package for Kevin Durant, Donovan Mitchell, or whichever star becomes available next. The Heat so far have not gotten much traction on either front, sources say, but they are still trying and can never be counted out.”
Heat fans have heard this tune before. One of the downsides of always trying to pursue star players is that, more often than not, the pursuit falls flat. Fans of the team well remember when the franchise was a rumored contender to land Giannis Antetokounmpo, only for the two-time MVP to sign a massive extension with the Milwaukee Bucks.
The current situation is somewhat different than that, as both the Nets and Jazz at least seem somewhat open to trading their respective stars.
Still, it is abundantly clear that any move involving either Mitchell or Durant is a far way off.
For that reason, the Heat will likely have to plan to enter the 2022-23 NBA regular season with the roster that they have now. Depending on how the Jazz and Nets perform early on in the regular season, it is possible that trade talks could become more serious.
Only time will tell if Heat team president Pat Riley and the rest of the team’s front office really gets a chance to strike gold and land a major star in the coming months.