Heat Aren’t ‘Distant’ in Kevin Durant Trade Negotiations, per NBA Insider

Getty Kevin Durant drives against Jimmy Butler during a game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Miami Heat.

It’s no secret that the Miami Heat wants to acquire Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets this offseason. The two sides have been linked together in trade discussions for weeks now. Durant first requested his trade from Brooklyn on June 30, just hours before the NBA’s free agency window opened. A few hours later, a list of the two teams he would like to play for was announced, and the Heat were one of the franchises named by the star.

Since then, Brooklyn and Miami have been unable to advance trade talks too much. The two teams sat down for a meeting at Summer League in Las Vegas, but other than that, talks have been quiet. 

On August 1, we shared reporting from a rival NBA executive that stated that the Nets have the Heat where they want them in trade negotiations. 

“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. 

Some have speculated that if the Heat include Adebayo in their offers to Brooklyn that a deal could be done. On a recent episode of The Ringer NBA show. NBA Insider Logan Murdock speculated that the Heat aren’t that far in Durant discussions. 

Heat Aren’t Far Off in Durant Trade Negotiations

On the July 28 episode of the show, Murdock and co-host Rob Mahoney were predicting their top four teams for next season, and while the Heat were outside looking in on the top four they noted that acquiring Durant could change that. 

Mahoney mentioned that he felt the Heat were just a throw-in of Durant’s teams he wanted to land on and that he really hopes to end up with the Phoenix Suns, but Murdock disagreed. Murdock, who spent time with KD for a feature he wrote last March, shared his insights on what he knows about Durant. 

“I don’t think they [the Heat] are as distant as you think,” Murdock said. “KD has always kind of had an eye on the Miami, in terms of like he gave them a meeting in 2016. He’s always respected that organization and how they go about things.” 

With Durant’s respect for the organization, Murdock continued about Miami being a serious choice for Durant. 

Murdock Believes Durant was ‘Serious’ About the Heat

“I think when he said the Miami Heat was one of his choices… I think he was serious about it. I think that that is a team he really likes and an organization he respects,” Murdock continued. 

Murdock continued on why he believes a deal hasn’t got done for Durant, and it is because he is a hard player to trade for. The Nets are looking for a historic haul for the 12-time All-Star, and that is what is holding back negotiations from being finalized.

Durant and Nets Expected to Meet

The Nets remain in control of any Durant trade. Durant is expected to meet with team owner Joe Tsai 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 source told Heavy Sports. “He’s going to go directly to the owner, Joe Tsai, sometime this week. We’ll see how that works.”

After the meeting, there will be a much better gauge of the future of Durant and Brooklyn. The meeting could squash Durant rumors or only light a fire to them.