Miami Heat: It’s time to move on from the Kevin Durant pipe dream

Miami Heat: Best Chance At Long Haul Contention May Mean Not Dealing For KD

But even from the Heat’s perspective, they’re losing Herro’s scoring, Lowry’s playmaking, and Robinson’s off-ball shooting—despite last year’s struggles. Even if it comes at the expense of trading for Durant, those aspects are very difficult to replace.

It makes it all more imperative for Miami to bring in that third team, but one with cap space (Oklahoma City or San Antonio) in order to dump, at least, one of Lowry or Robinson’s salaries.

IT’S WITHIN THE MIAMI HEAT’S BEST INTEREST TO WITHDRAW FROM ALL KEVIN DURANT TALKS. 

There’s a fine line between optimism and delusion. Whenever a player of Durant’s caliber requests a trade, the media hits another realm of imagination.

Unfortunately for Miami, they’re not a team that should get carried away, nor should they put themselves in a position of doing so. It’s not so much that they don’t have the ammunition to acquire Durant—as much as that they shouldn’t look to expend it all now.

When healthy and available, this is a competitive roster that has four capable All-Stars. To follow, they have a respectable supporting cast and a strong developmental system.

You simply won’t win in this league if your team doesn’t have the depth to compete. With Durant having just one season with 70 games played in the last five years, the 34-year-old’s mileage is concerning for any team that intends to clear their entire bench for him.

Even if Miami doesn’t acquire Durant or any perennial All-Star this summer, this is a team that can finish high in the Eastern Conference standings—again for the third time in four years.

That can, of course, be accomplished if they keep Butler, Adebayo, Lowry, and Tyler Herro—all of who were the team’s four leading scorers from last season. By any means, the Miami Heat aren’t in the wrong for having an interest in Durant but from top to bottom, there are methods and procedures that are the foundation of their winning culture.

These are norms and standards that they shouldn’t shy away from and even for a talent of Durant’s magnitude.