The Miami Heat continued to be linked with a potential trade for Kevin Durant. Pat Riley is likely keen to replace Jimmy Butler‘s star power, in the hope of boosting the franchise’s chances of success.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks recently shared a proposed trade that would make sense for both the Heat and the Phoenix Suns. Marks’ idea looks like this:
Heat get: Kevin Durant
Suns get: Nikola Jovic, Andrew Wiggins, 2025 first-round pick (via Golden State), 2030 first-round pick (via Miami), 2026 second-round pick (via Los Angeles Lakers)
Nets get: Duncan Robinson, Keshad Johnson, 2029 first-round swap (top-4 protected), 2031 first-round swap (top-4 protected), 2031 second-round pick (via better of Indiana and Miami)
“Miami has to hope that Dallas decides not to sacrifice massive amounts of depth for a Durant pursuit and Houston prefers to wait for a younger star player (say, Giannis Antetokounmpo or Booker) who better fits the team’s timetable,” Marks wrote. “In that scenario, the Heat can check multiple boxes for the Suns. This trade cuts about $20 million from Phoenix’s 2025-26 payroll, which the Suns could either reinvest in a center or simply take as enormous luxury tax savings.”
In this trade idea, the Heat would keep both Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. As such, Erik Spoelstra would have a highly reliable trio to build around. However, the pressure would then be on Riley to construct a talented supporting cast.
Heat Should Consider a Gap Year
If Miami misses out on adding Durant this summer, embracing a gap year could be a viable option. Dan Favale of Bleacher Report recently outlined why embracing a year of struggle could be a smart move for Miami.
“Without a clear present-day or future solution already on the roster, the Heat must look outward,” Favale wrote. “And that should lead them to an awkward realization: They’re better off taking a gap year. Miami doesn’t have any money to throw around in free agency but could have $30-plus million in space next summer, when they also control their own first-round pick. Taking a step back now makes more sense than prematurely pursuing a trade or pretending as if the Heat’s roster is built to yield a solution without a significant addition.”
If the Heat do adopt a slow-and-steady approach, they will enter next summer as genuine players on the free agent market. Maybe the potential to land a star-level free agent talent will be enough to give the Heat reason to seek out stop-gap additions this summer.
Andrew Wiggins Could Make Sense for Lakers
Even if Miami does embrace a gap year, it could still look to improve on the fringes. One way of doing that could be testing the trade market for Andrew Wiggins. In a recent episode of his “Buha’s Block” podcast, The Athletic’s Jovan Buha noted that the former champion could be a strong addition for the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I think Wiggins, if the Lakers are looking to address the wing need on the trade market, Wiggins is a guy that I like a lot, and you can get there probably with some base of Rui plus matching salary,” Buha said. “Like, for me, any trade where the Lakers can add a rotation player and not give up one of their top six, I would say, like the line for me starts at Gabe, where I’d be willing to give him up for an upgrade. So I have not heard specifically Wiggins, but he is the type of target that would make sense for them.”
This summer could be a busy one for the Heat. Therefore, it will be interesting to see what route Riley chooses to take. However, if Miami does miss out on Durant, what they do next will dictate how the upcoming season will play out for Erik Spoelstra’s team.
