Were the Heat Faking Their Durant Interest All Along?

The never-ending Kevin Durant trade saga seems to have ended this week, when the Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets agreed to a trade package. And right until the end, all throughout the seemingly interminable negotiations, the Miami Heat were said to be one of the teams trying to put together a trade package.

However, as the dust settles and the post-mortems begin, a new report from a Heat beat writer, flanked by a comment from a Suns analyst, suggests that their interest was never as strong as the rumor mill suggested – if ever there was any at all.

Heat’s Final Offer – And What Was Never Included

A report by ESPN’s Shams Charania said the Heat were one of the two finalists along with the Rockets in the Durant sweepstakes, while also listing many of the pieces they refused to include. Charania listed each of Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic, Haywood Highsmith, the #20 overall pick in Wednesday’s 2025 NBA Draft and “other draft assets” as being deemed off the table by the Heat, while also describing an “unwillingness” to include rookie center Kel’el Ware.

Albeit with mild discrepancies, these details largely chime with a report by Barry Jackson, writer with the Miami Herald. Jackson described the Heat’s “final” offer as being one of Andrew Wiggins, Terry Rozier, the #20 pick and two bench players (suggested as being Highsmith and Jaquez). In addition to what they were willing to give up, the Heat were also said to want Cody Martin back, perhaps satisfied that they had the leverage to be the ones to ask for more.

For a player of Durant’s pedigree – whom Jackson reports the Heat have tried to acquire on at least three previous occasions – it is certainly a low offer. And John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM believes it is because the Heat did not really mean it. In a post to X, Gambadoro states his view that the Heat only paid lip service to the idea of a Durant trade, “to appease their fan base”.

Heat In On All The Stars, Or So They Say

The Heat have long been known to be a team that refuses to take the more common “tanking” approach to team-building. In any seasons in which they have lost heavily, it tends to be by mistake. Instead, they try to keep the ball in the air, and get in on the bidding war for near-enough every star player that becomes available on the trade market – or so is the impression they ferment.

If Gambadoro is correct, the Heat’s interest in Durant served as more of a bluff than a true attempt. Certainly, they could have outbid the Rockets. Throughout the negotiation saga, it was said that Ware was the sticking point – if the Heat had included him, they would have had Durant. In this respect, Gambadoro’s words seem to ring true; the Heat clearly did not want Durant all that much.

Then again, if Gambadoro’s logic was always correct, and the Heat paid lip service to the pursuit of stars for PR purposes rather than genuine conviction, Jimmy Butler would never have joined the Heat. Kyle Lowry would never have joined the Heat. Et cetera, et cetera.

Can’t It Be Both?

It is entirely possible that the Heat did want Durant, but only for a low price. Not because they think any less of him, but because the Suns’ notable lack of leverage – and the Heat’s relative lack of good assets – would have meant that paying a more significant price for a player with only a couple of years left in the tank would have been excessively short-sighted.

The Heat have a solid talent foundation, but do not have much in the trade assets cupboard. If Ware is the choicest cut on the platter, it would take something better than Durant to part with him, because the 16-year age gap cannot be overlooked. Faced with the choice of being slightly better now or better for much longer, the Heat kept Ware, Jaquez and Jovic to keep the long-term prognosis better. And with all due respect to Haywood Highsmith, a solid defensive role player, he was not moving the needle in any of this.

Or maybe Gambadoro is right, and the Heat were posturing all along. The direction of the rest of their offseason will decide that.