The Miami Heat are finally free. Well, sort of.
Just like every other team around the entire NBA, they were monitoring the Kevin Durant situation with as close an eye as humanly possible.
Listed as one of his two preferred destinations early on in the process, along with the Phoenix Suns, many, probably including the Miami Heat brass themselves, thought that the South Florida-based ball club was one of the organizations with an advantage in the process.
A month or so and many rumors later, no one had an advantage. That goes for every single party.
The Brooklyn Nets didn’t have leverage because Durant made it known he wanted out, leaving no room for opposing teams to have to woo them. Durant, himself, didn’t have leverage, as he was inked to a long-term deal and Brooklyn didn’t have to move him.
No opposing team had leverage because of Brooklyn’s scenario, as they didn’t have to move him even though he wanted to be moved. This meant that they could, quite literally, ask for what they wanted—and they wanted it all.
Miami Heat Rumors: End of Kevin Durant Saga The Best Thing For Them
Consequently, it has all led to this.
Here was the latest chatter on the situation as of Tuesday afternoon. For now, it seems to be over.
Per the Brooklyn Nets, they are “focusing on basketball, with one collective goal in mind”. Here is the full statement from the organization’s official social media page, supplemented by a layman’s terms analysis from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Kevin Durant trade discussions are over, the Nets say. He’s under contract for four years. https://t.co/Xnwk4rPW8q
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 23, 2022
With “for now” being the key phrase uttered a little bit ago, a momentary sense of conclusion does provide a breath of fresh air and for most—a sense of clarity.
That should be exactly the case for the Miami Heat. It also illustrates why the end of this saga, one way or another, was the best thing for the Miami Heat.
Being held hostage by the rumors and chances of landing Durant, you can’t blame the Heat for stalling on other things to ensure that they were able to take a swing on KD had they gotten the proverbial pitch they wanted.
Miami Heat Rumors: They Can Now Deal In ‘Absolutes’, Instead Of Hypotheticals
It’s only logical. When a guy of his caliber comes available and especially after he publicizes it that you are one of his top choices, you have to set yourself up to be able to make a deal.
Again, you can’t blame the Miami Heat there. Though you can’t really blame them at all for anything, here is the downside of doing what they had to do in this circumstance.
Being so close to the season, all of the other high-quality free agents are gone.
While, at this point, they will probably be waiting closer to the NBA Trade Deadline before they are able to bring in a high-quality power forward to add to the ranks of their depth there, in just one example. While that is the case, at least they can now begin to go about plotting how that looks.
It came with its hindrances, such as the above mentioned, and though you know they had to get in on the action— this is why the end of the KD saga is the best thing for the Miami Heat at this point.