Following the rocky end of the Jimmy Butler era in Miami, the Heat may replace their former franchise player with Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant this summer.
Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report imagined a massive trade in which Durant would join Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo in Miami to form a new Big Three.
Swartz’s trading proposal:
Miami Heat Receive: F. Kevin Durant
Phoenix Suns Receive: F/C Kel’el Ware, F Duncan Robinson, and G Terry Rozier. 2025 first-round selection (via Golden State Warriors); 2030 first-round pick (top-five protected via Miami Heat).
“Durant should like the idea of returning to the Eastern Conference and joining a team with two All-Stars in their mid-20s while playing for one of the league’s best coaches, Erik Spoelstra.” Swartz stated, “Durant and Spoelstra won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA last summer.”
The two-time NBA champion has one year remaining on his four-year, $194 million contract. He is set to make $54.7 million next season.
The Suns’ impending decision is good news for Heat.
Durant’s tenure in Phoenix could come to an end this summer, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes, since the team is moving away from the Big 3 model, which has resulted in no playoff success in the last two seasons.
“One thing I was told is that the Suns want to transition,” Haynes stated on “Haynes’ Briefs” on Friday, April 18. “They want to move away from the paradigm that they’ve been pursuing for the past two years, which has been to accumulate great quality and players and then see if they can mesh on the court. They desire and will move away from it.
“So, the idea right now, and the goal for next season, is to gather defensive-minded, tough players. They want to play a defensive, grind-it-out style of game. They want to have a product on the court that spectators will appreciate.
The Heat have the experience and culture to make a Big 3 experiment work. They should capitalize on the Suns’ difficulties to reestablish themselves as viable Eastern Conference contenders.
Kevin Durant had’mutual interest’ with the Heat.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Heat were one of the teams in which he had mutual interest around the previous trade deadline.
“Back at the NBA trade deadline, there was a list of teams with which there was mutual interest with Kevin Durant,” Charania had told “The Pat McAfee Show” shortly thereafter. “Those teams, from what I understand, are Minnesota, New York, Houston, San Antonio, and Miami.”
“Those are the types of teams that, from what I understand, had interest at the time, and I expect them all to be involved this summer. But the most important thing to watch for all NBA fans and fans of those teams is how their team performs in the playoffs. How are the playoffs going? Because it will determine who believes they are a Kevin Durant away.”
The Heat were looking into Durant after Butler demanded a trade.
According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Ramona Shelburne, the Heat and Suns have been engaged in a “high-stakes poker game” over Durant and Butler for weeks. After Butler’s attempt to reunite with Durant failed, the Heat traded him to the Golden State Warriors.
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