Getty Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro of the Miami Heat who are in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics.
The Miami Heat have been one of the more engaged teams in the sweepstakes for Kevin Durant. Finally, on August 2, we got the first major update on progress in the Durant discussions. Durant, who requested the trade via phone call with Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai, is believed to be meeting with Durant by the end of the week, as reported by Heavy’s own Steve Bulpett.
“What I’m hearing is that KD is going to meet with the owner this week,” a league source told Heavy Sports. “He’s going to go directly to the owner, Joe Tsai, sometime this week. We’ll see how that works.”
It is unknown what the final verdict of what the meeting between Tsai and Durant will be, but teams are still preparing as if the franchise star will remain on the market, and if that’s the case, the Heat, of course, remain in the ranks to try to land KD.
Despite the uncertainty around the result of the meeting, Tyler Herro was included in a ‘realistic‘ trade proposal article from Bleacher Reports Andy Bailey.
Tyler Herro Sends Cryptic Tweet Following Trade Rumors
On the same day as the article linking Herro as a realistic trade possibility in Durant discussions, the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award winner took to Twitter to share a curious message. The guard tweeted for the first time since July 11, sharing a single laughing emoji.
Whether the laughing emoji was in response to recent trade rumors involving him or something else is unclear, but the timing of the tweet certainly is questionable. Especially considering his lack of Twitter activity.
The article proposing Herro in discussions said,
“In his third season, Herro averaged 20.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.7 threes while shooting 39.9 percent from three. A 22-year-old putting up numbers like that suggests No. 1-option potential. At the very least, he looks like he can be a high-end No. 2,” Bailey wrote. “A deal with Herro as the centerpiece makes more sense from the Nets’ team-building perspective too. There were players drafted this summer who are older than Herro. Having him, multiple picks, and salary filler isn’t a terrible place to start with a reboot.”
The Nets remain consistent in a deal with Herro as a centerpiece is unlikely to lure them into completing a deal for Durant. One NBA executive recently shared with Heavy’s Sean Deveney that the Nets could be at the spot where the Heat would have to include Adebayo to land Durant.
Heat Would Have to Include Bam in Proposals
In a recent conversation with a league executive, the Nets were said to have leverage in negotiations after the Boston Celtics offering Jaylen Brown was leaked to the media.
“The Nets have gotten them to the point they were trying to get them to, which is, ‘OK, do we include Bam (Adebayo) in one of these packages?’ The young players, Tyler Herro, the picks they have, that is not going to get Durant. Adebayo will. When the stuff came out about Jaylen Brown, that was aimed at a team like Miami, letting them know they’ve got to add Bam, letting Phoenix know they’ve got to add (Devin) Booker. If the package is Bam and some of their bench pieces and three picks, the Nets might not do better than that,” the Eastern Conference executive said.
As with most things, it all relies on the Brooklyn Nets and what happens with their meeting with Durant. Whether the Nets will have more urgency in Durant trade negotiations will likely be seen after the two sides meet.