Heat reportedly among Kevin Durant's preferred trade destinations. Where things stand
The Miami Heat is interested in acquiring 15-time All-Star forward Kevin Durant and Durant is interested in joining the Heat.
After a league source confirmed the Heat's interest in Durant earlier this week, ESPN's Shams Charania reported Saturday night that the Heat, San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets are Durant's three preferred trade destinations.
'Those across the NBA have been made aware in recent days that those are the three teams that Durant would commit to long-term,' Charania reported.
This is important because Durant has just one season left on his contract, as he's due $54.7 million next season before he can become a free agent in the 2026 offseason.
Durant, who turns 37 on Sept. 29, is eligible to sign a two-year contract extension worth as much as $112 million following a potential trade. If he waits six months after the trade, he could sign a two-year extension worth up to $124 million.
ESPN's report came shortly after The Athletic listed the Spurs and Rockets as Durant's only preferred trade destinations, 'but there are complicating factors with both of those negotiations that (for now, at least) make a deal look unlikely.'
The Minnesota Timberwolves are another team reportedly that have engaged the Suns in trade talks for Durant, but he's apparently not willing to make a long-term commitment to the Timberwolves.
Even though the Heat, Spurs and Rockets are Durant's preferred trade destinations, the Suns could still deal him elsewhere if another team is willing to take him in as a one-year rental on an expiring contract. The Toronto Raptors went that route when they traded for Kawhi Leonard in 2018 before winning the NBA championship with Leonard in 2019 and then losing him to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2019 free agency.
'The Suns have made clear to six-to-eight seriously interested teams that they will make the best deal for the franchise — even outside of his preferred list of Miami, San Antonio and Houston,' Charania reported.
The Heat holds Durant in high regard but doesn't want to offer all of its trade assets — meaning its top young players and all its available draft inventory — because he's entering his late 30s.
The question is whether the Heat would be willing to include 21-year-old center Kel'el Ware in a potential deal for Durant after Ware made the NBA's All-Rookie Second Team for his work this past season.
The Heat can also trade two-first rounds before the draft: the 20th overall selection in this month's draft and a first-round pick in 2030 or 2031.
The Heat can trade as many as three first-round picks if the deal is agreed to before the draft but not executed until after the draft. In that scenario, Miami could select a player on behalf of another team at No. 20 in this year's draft and then trade its 2030 and 2032 first-round picks after the draft. The Heat's 2032 first-round pick can't be traded until after the draft because teams cannot deal picks more than seven years out.
Duncan Robinson's contract could also be attractive to the Suns, as he's due to make $19.9 million next season but only $9.9 million is currently guaranteed. A team that acquires Robinson could release him by his July 8 guarantee deadline and save $10 million against the cap and luxury tax, which would save the Suns more than $20 million and help get them under the second apron and potentially under the luxury tax line.
One thing is for sure, Durant is still one of the NBA's elite scorers even at this late stage of his career. He averaged 26.6 points, six rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 52.7 percent from the field and 43 percent on six three-point attempts per game this past season for Suns in his 17th NBA season.
Durant and three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic were the only two players in the league who averaged at least 25 points per game while shooting better than 50 percent from the field and better than 40 percent from three-point range last regular season.
In fact, Durant has averaged at least 25 points per game while shooting 50 percent or better from the field and 40 percent or better on threes in three straight regular seasons for the longest such streak in NBA history, according to ESPN research. Durant also shot an NBA-best 49.7 percent on jumpers, an NBA-best 53.1 percent on midrange shots and an NBA-best 50.9 percent on off-the-dribble jumpers, according to GeniusIQ.
This marks at least the fourth time that the Heat has attempted to add Durant to its roster during the past decade. The Heat tried to land Durant in free agency during the 2016 offseason, then tried to acquire him in 2022 (when he requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, but he was eventually dealt to the Suns), and then made an offer for him last season before this past February's trade deadline.
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