The Miami Heat are one of the five teams that have expressed interest in a Kevin Durant blockbuster trade this summer, ESPN’s senior NBA insider Shams Charania reported on Wednesday.
Charania reported that talks between the Phoenix Suns and Durant’s business partner, Boardroom CEO Rich Kleiman, have escalated this past week.
They have met “multiple times over the past week and are sifting through trade scenarios.”
“Teams that have expressed interest in Durant, sources said, mainly feature the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks. Several wild-card suitors have made inquiries on Durant in the past seven to 10 days, sources said,” Charania wrote.
The Heat are lacking a bona fide star after Jimmy Butler left them at the trade deadline. They were one of the teams with which Durant had mutual interest with, Charania reported in April.
Heat Urged to Make Kevin Durant Trade
Getty Terry Rozier of the Miami Heat drives against Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith has urged the Heat to trade for Durant following their lackluster finish to a tumultuous season. The Heat got swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs.
“[The Heat] need all the help they can get,” Smith said on ESPN’s First Take. “They need a No. 1 option, they can play defense, and Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo ain’t no scrubs. They just need a No. 1 option. That wasn’t Jimmy Butler. We love him, but that wasn’t him. That’s KD. He’s gonna give you 27 a night.”
The Heat could interest the Suns with a potential package led by promising center Kel’el Ware and Andrew Wiggins or the expiring salaries of Terry Rozier and Duncan Robinson and draft capital. The Heat have three tradable first-round picks (2030, 2032 and this year’s 20th first-round pick via Golden State Warriors) and two second-round picks to use in any trade this June.
If they successfully acquire Durant, it will be interesting if Heat president Pat Riley will give the two-time NBA Finals MVP a two-year, $112 million max extension that Butler did not get, which led to his trade demand.
Durant is owed $54.7 million next season and is on the final year of his current four-year, $190 million contract.
Pat Riley Open to Trading for Aging Star
Riley referenced to the Golden State Warriors’ gamble on Butler that paid off when it comes to pursuing an aging star.
“I think if you take a look at the Warriors, with Draymond [Green], Steph [Curry] and Jimmy, you’ve got three 35, 36, 37 guys,” Riley said during his end-of-season press conference. “It’s a perfect time for them.
“I think an aging great, great player who may not be able to carry a team, together they can rise to the occasion in the playoffs. Steph’s injury might hurt them [the Warriors] a little bit, but I saw something very unique with that team. For us, yes, if that player is the right name and the contract is the right length, I still think that an aging player can play. Look at LeBron [James].”
Durant, who will turn 37 this September, is still among the elite players in the league. The 15-time NBA All-Star averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 62 games.
Charania highlighted that Durant’s historic performance at despite his advancing age — averaging at least 25 points, 50% shooting and 40% on 3-pointers in three straight seasons, the longest streak ever in the NBA, according to ESPN Research. He shot a league-best on jumpers (49.7%) and midrange shots (53.1%) which makes him a best bet to age gracefully in today’s game.
