If the Miami Heat sign Kevin Durant, this is how it happens

Should Kevin Durant sign with the Miami Heat? If he does, it could be part of his own master plan.

Stephen A. Smith really wants people to listen to him. It’s why he yells so darn much. The point is less about being right or wrong, and more something like “I have an opinion that matters!” He wants you and I to know that, and he’ll penetrate every post- and pre-game show until you’re hit over the head with that opinion. It’s inescapable. It’s unavoidable. It’s unpalatable.

One of those yellinars had something to do about Smith hypothetically making Kevin Durant’s decision. “If I am Kevin Durant, and I don’t stay in OKC,” Smith rasped on ESPN’s First Take, “there is one place that I’m going above all else, and that is to South Beach.”

We know the Miami Heat are going to make a run at Durant. We also know that its chances are slim, but we also know not to put anything past Pat Riley. We also know it will take a lot of roster gymnastics and cap twirling to sign Durant.

Knowing all the things we know, it’s still something worth talking about. You, nor I, nor Stephen A. knows what Durant is going to do. So let’s skip on over trying to read his mind and talk about what it would be like if he did sign in Miami.

Pat Riley said he wants to start building around Hassan Whiteside, believing he can recruit guys to Miami with Whiteside in the middle. Riley also needs to re-sign Dwyane Wade–a prestige player and face of the franchise. With the numbers being thrown around in reports, we can expect Riley to re-sign both of them for something around $35 million combined.

For those of you wondering if Wade would be willing to take a minimal salary if it meant bringing Durant on as a teammate, it’s not that simple. Wade’s cap hold counts for $30 million, meaning that he’s on the books for that much until the Heat either (a.) re-sign him or (b.) renounce his rights and let him become a free agent. Miami won’t do the second thing because that means they won’t have his Bird Rights, meaning they wouldn’t be able to go over the cap to sign him. Miami, therefore, will likely re-sign Wade quickly in order to cut that $30 million cap hit by between 30 and 50 percent.

Miami will have something like $6 million in cap space after re-signing Wade and Whiteside, with nine players on the roster. Aka not enough room to sign Durant to a max-level contract worth upwards of $20 million.

So how do the Heat make enough room for Durant? If KD chooses to sign with the Heat, Miami and the Thunder–with OKC not wanting to lose Durant for nothing–could work out a sign-and-trade. Doing so would transfer Durant’s Bird Rights to the Heat and allow them to exceed the cap to sign him.

Miami doesn’t have draft picks to trade, but they do have Goran Dragic. Would the Thunder be willing to take Dragic in exchange for Durant? Oklahoma City already has Russell Westbrook at point guard, but maybe they can play in the backcourt together, just like Dragic did in Phoenix with Eric Bledsoe. Both like to play fast, after all, and the Thunder would need to rewire its offense with Durant out of the picture. It would also provide some insurance in case Westbrook walks when he hits the market in 2017.

But what if the Thunder don’t want to help pack Durant’s bags for him and facilitate a sign-and-trade? The Heat could still trade Dragic and, in combination with Josh McRoberts, clear about $20 million in cap space.

The Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks are all desperate for a point guard. All of them should have enough cap room for Dragic, could trade for him without sending a ton of money back to the Heat. A minimum-level player, a draft pick or two, and the Heat could clear enough room to sign Durant. It wouldn’t allow for much else, and the Heat would have to sign players to minimum contracts to fill out the roster. But who cares?! The Heat have Durant!

Of course, all of this happens only if Durant decides he wants to play for the Heat. Why would he do such a thing, especially after pushing the Golden State Warriors to seven games in the Western Conference finals?

Well, for exactly that reason. The Thunder played about as well as they could and still lost. Durant hasn’t been back to the Finals since 2012 despite being one of the best three players in the NBA. The West is a tough road, with the likes of the Warriors, Spurs and Clippers not going anywhere anytime soon. Durant could look at the East and see an easier path to a championship. With that in mind, three Eastern Conference teams have been rumored as possible Durant destinations (durantinations?): The Heat, Celtics and Wizards.

He’s not going to the Wizards because Wizards, and hiring Scott Brooks as coach may have the opposite effect than what they hoped for. The Celtics are promising, have a ton of assets and young talent, but Durant is 27 and is entering his championship window. Signing with a still-building team means he would be a year or two away from even competing with LeBron’s Cavs. Meanwhile, the Heat has Whiteside–a better player than anyone on the Celtics right now–and Wade, a championship player.

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The Heat also have Chris Bosh, a do-it-all stretch-4 who is the player Serge Ibaka never turned into. But Bosh’s medical condition is well documented, and throws a wrench into this who thing. Durant would surely want to play with a future Hall of Famer of such caliber as Bosh. But, if Bosh can’t play, is that a deal breaker? I’m not so sure. If Bosh can play, great, the Heat can rebuild the LeBron Era prototype that won two championships. If Bosh doesn’t play in 2016-2017, well, he could come off the books for the summer of 2017.

Just in time for Westbrook’s free agency decision.