NBA Insider Reveals Heat's Possible Kevin Durant Trade Package
NBA Insider Reveals Heat's Possible Kevin Durant Trade Package originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Miami Heat have become real players in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes as of late.
Durant's tenure as a member of the Phoenix Suns is set to come to a close this summer, and the Heat will surely attempt to take advantage of his imminent departure.
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Miami's team president Pat Riley will be pushing for the franchise to be uber-aggressive this offseason with regard to trading for a superstar, and the 36-year-old future Hall of Fame inductee could become the Heat's top priority.
With Durant's prospective suitors getting set to take their shot at acquiring the legendary 15-time All-Star, Spotrac's Keith Smith joined the Locked on Heat podcast to discuss some of the Heat's best tradable assets with regard to a potential deal.
Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant gestures to the referee for a foul call against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena.Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
"As far as the talent on the roster, I think the challenge is (that) a year ago, Jaime Jaquez (Jr.) looked like this guy who, 'Hey, maybe we can plug this guy in as a starter just about anywhere and feel really good about it," Smith told Locked on Heat hosts Wes Goldberg and David Ramil on Tuesday.
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"I think he backslid enough this year that there's at least some questions of, 'What happened?"
Diving further into the potential key pieces of a Durant deal, Smith also suggested that several players with large expiring contracts could be used to facilitate a trade with the Suns.
"It sounds crazy to say it because I know Heat fans are like, 'Get Terry Rozier as far away from this team as they can.' But the good news is he's an expiring contract."
"Same thing with a guy like Duncan Robinson, expiring deal worth nearly $20 million. Those have value, again, in the league."
If the Heat were to pull off a blockbuster transaction to land Durant, the trio of Jaime Jaquez Jr., Terry Rozier and Duncan Robinson could be a great starting point.
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For Phoenix, it's likely that Jaquez Jr. could pique their interests as a 2024 All-Rookie First Team selection and continually developing forward.
With added first-round draft capital being thrown into the mix, a package centered around Jaquez Jr. might just be enough for the Suns and Heat to shake hands on a possible deal.
Durant's prospective acquisition would be a franchise-altering decision for the Heat, as it would firmly place the franchise as a dark-horse Eastern Conference contender in 2025-26.
In 62 contests for the Suns this past season, Durant contributed 26.6 points and 6.0 rebounds on a ridiculous 64.2% true shooting percentage, proving that he could certainly make an impact next to another star scorer like the Heat's first-time All-Star Tyler Herro.
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Related: Shams Charania Links 5 Teams to Suns Star Kevin Durant in Trade Talks
Related: Blockbuster NBA Trade Idea Lands Suns' Kevin Durant With LeBron James' Old Team
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
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