The Miami Heat are predicted to land Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant in a blockbuster trade this offseason.
Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz made the bold prediction as Durant and the Suns are expected to part ways.
“Kevin Durant is coming off another monster season (26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.2 blocks, 43.0 percent from three), yet he’s entering the final year of his contract.
“The Suns have to do something to move past a disappointing 36-46 season in which they paid over $350 million in roster and luxury-tax costs. Trading Durant is perhaps the easiest way to shake things up,” Swartz wrote.
The Suns cannot trade Bradley Beal unless he waives his no-trade clause, which he doesn’t want to. They made Devin Booker untouchable, leaving Durant as their only valuable trade chip.
Heat, Kevin Durant ‘Had Mutual Interest’
The Heat could be in play as they had mutual interest with Durant at the trade deadline when they were working on a Jimmy Butler trade.
“Back at the NBA trade deadline, there was a list of teams with which there was mutual interest with Kevin Durant,” ESPN’s Shams Charania said on “The Pat McAfee Show” at the time. “Those teams, from my understanding, are Minnesota, that’s New York, Houston, San Antonio and Miami.
“Those are the types of teams, from my understanding, that had interest then, and I expect them all to be in the mix this offseason. But the biggest thing to keep an eye on for all NBA fans and fans of those teams is: How does your team finish in the playoffs? How do the playoffs go? Because that’s going to really determine who feels like they’re a Kevin Durant away.”
By process of elimination, Swartz concluded that the Heat is one of the two teams where Durant will likely land.
The Rockets and Spurs have the assets to go after Durant, but both should be prioritizing younger stars to grow with their cores. Durant will turn 37 in September.
New York is low on draft picks after the Mikal Bridges deal and shouldn’t be in a hurry to shake up what’s become a strong starting five led by Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.
With Minnesota still alive in the playoffs and Miami swept out in the first round, the Heat should already be placing calls to new Suns general manager Brian Gregory about acquiring Durant.
Suns Transitioning From ‘Big 3’ Model
Getty (L-R) Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns watch from the bench.
NBA insider Chris Haynes reported that they are moving on from the Big 3 model, which did not result in any playoff success over the last two seasons.
“One thing that I was told is that the Suns want to transition,” Haynes said on “Haynes’ Briefs” Friday, April 18. “They want to move away from the model that they’ve been going after for the previous two years of accumulating star talent, star players and then trying to see if it can mesh on the court. They want to move away from that and they are going to move away from that.
“So, the purpose right now and the goal moving into next season is to accumulate defensive-minded tough players. They want to play a defensive-minded, grind-it-out type of game. They want to have a product on a court that fans can appreciate.”
The Heat have plenty of defensive-minded players from forward Andrew Wiggins to point guard Davion Mitchell.
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