The Miami Heat are frontrunners in Kevin Durant trade talks, but what would a deal actually look like?
Kevin Durant is on the move this offseason, and the Miami Heat have emerged as one of the only teams equipped — and motivated — to land the superstar. Durant has also made it clear that there are a select few teams that he would be open to, and Miami is one of them.
The Phoenix Suns are looking for a center to headline a Durant trade, with other bigs and potentially a point guard making up their wishlist. They would also appreciate immediate draft capital in order to pad out an expensive squad with young talent that can mature into useful players going forward. Miami is one of the few teams that can offer all of these things, whilst also having a genuine reason for moving for Durant.
Last offseason, Bam Adebayo signed a three-year extension worth $166 million, so it is clear Miami’s intention is to win with the All-Star. If they believe a core of Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and Andrew Wiggins is the start of a championship-winning team that just needs a little extra something to get it over the line, you can see where the thinking behind a KD trade comes in. It makes sense that, given Bam Adebayo’s timeline and what looks to be a weak Eastern Conference, Miami could make a win-now move.
Given the lack of leverage, it’s unlikely the Suns get everything they want from this deal, but there are options there, which is a start. I mocked up a 3-team trade including the Utah Jazz.
https://fanspo.com/nba/s/suns/trades/BtzpdPL2yPOORs/durant-to-the-heat
Suns receive: John Collins, Duncan Robinson, Nikola Jovic, Kel’el Ware
Heat receive: Kevin Durant, Grayson Allen
Jazz receive: Terry Rozier, Keshad Johnson, 2030 First Round Pick (via Miami)
In this scenario, Miami offers Kel’el Ware, Nikola Jovic, Duncan Robinson, Terry Rozier, and Keshad Johnson, along with their 2030 first-round pick, for Kevin Durant and Grayson Allen.
In this leg of the idea, there is room for maneuver with the Suns’ #29 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, and the Heat’s #20 pick in the upcoming draft, potential removal of Allen and/or inclusion of Andrew Wiggins. I don’t think Wiggins is really a priority for the Suns, though, given their current needs. The general discourse on a trade taking KD to Miami comes from their reluctance to include Kel’el Ware in a deal. There is no doubt he is a talented young player; it is just that other teams will simply outbid Miami if he is not included in a deal. It really is that simple. They don’t have much else the Suns would value ahead of other offers they are receiving.
The Suns then send Rozier, Johnson, and Miami’s first-round pick to the Utah Jazz for John Collins. There would need to be approval from the player’s side that he would sign a new deal at Phoenix, likely to be slightly cheaper than his current deal. This would involve him either signing an extension with the Jazz or opting into his player option, joining the Suns, and then signing an extension there. The Jazz have bird rights on the player, and Collins hasn’t shown any desire to leave, so they may want a second first-round pick to get this deal done.
Miami gets their star along with a useful piece in Grayson Allen, who could either start alongside Herro or work as a sixth man, depending on whether they bring in a point guard.
Phoenix gets its bigs in Ware and Collins while also having useful trade pieces in Robinson and Jovic, which it can use to continue reshaping the roster (it would have the apron space to target someone like Jrue Holiday).
Utah gets a young player, continues their rebuild, and accrues draft capital for taking on salary and maneuvering a sign-and-trade type deal for John Collins.
Alongside the Houston Rockets, the Heat are the current frontrunners in Kevin Durant trade talks. Phoenix will push this right up until draft day to try to extract as much value out of this deal as they can. This move is crucial for the Suns to retrieve some assets and start looking towards the future.
Listen to the latest episode of the Suns JAM Session Podcast below. To stay up to date on every episode, subscribe to the pod on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, YouTube Podcasts, Amazon Music, Podbean, or Castbox.
Please subscribe, rate, and review.