The NBA landscape sees teams making huge moves more often than any previous era. Kevin Durant is one name rumored to potentially get moved if the upcoming season with the Houston Rockets doesn’t see instant team success. Pundits have tied the Miami Heat to Durant since they are lacking one more game changer on paper to truly contend for an NBA Championship next season.
CBS Sports floated out their idea of a potential trade package that Miami can offer Houston for Durant:
“Miami receives: Kevin Durant
Houston receives: Andrew Wiggins, Nikola Jovic and a 2029 first-round pick (MIA)”
The trade package is not that expensive for a future Hall of Famer and current All-NBA star. Durant’s age does make it harder for teams to expect to get huge assets in return. However, the Heat would certainly love to take the chance on pairing Durant with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo for a few real shots at the title.
Houston would have to grow frustrated with their current roster and want to get out of the Durant era. Last season ended poorly when the Rockets lost to a Los Angeles Lakers squad missing both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves for most of the first round series to expose their flaws.
Scenario That Makes Rockets Trade Kevin Durant
Another noteworthy reason to warrant the Rockets trading Durant comes back to the infamous burner story. Durant allegedly had a secret social media account where he entered popular online fan spaces. Leaked comments from said account saw the person insulting Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr.
The story leaked around the All-Star break that saw Houston struggling after and never appearing to be on the same page. Durant has run into past issues of his other burner accounts getting caught trashing his former Oklahoma City Thunder teammates.
However, this created a new locker room issue that clearly impacted the team. The Rockets are hoping that getting injured point guard Fred VanVleet back and signing other veterans will get them back on track. The team struggling early could see Houston realizing this core won’t win and trading Durant to help the chances of future success.
Why Miami Heat Would Love This Trade
The Heat will enter the upcoming season with optimism that the Giannis era starts off successfully. Trading Tyler Herro and other young assets for Antetokounmpo destroyed the team’s depth and required them getting creative to add more talent.
Both Klay Thompson and Tim Hardaway were considered noteworthy signings since the team lacked three-point shooting beforehand. Wiggins can hit threes, but that would not be considered one of his greatest strengths. Jovic is also a flawed young player who must develop fast to fit into Miami’s timeline.
Trading two expendable pieces for Durant would be a great gamble to raise their ceiling with this core. A lineup of Davion Mitchell, Thompson, Durant, Antetokounmpo, and Adebayo would be quite strong on paper. Durant named the Heat in the past when requesting trades to new locations, so he’d likely also be enthusiastic about this new situation.
Miami Heat Realistic Trade Package For Kevin Durant Revealed