Over the last few years, the star acquisition has eluded the Miami Heat. That may be about to change if a chaotic ESPN trade pitch comes to fruition. This one would revolve around the Heat prying Kevin Durant, who has been linked to Miami for the past few months, away from the Phoenix Suns via a huge three-team trade.
In the speculated trade pitch, the Heat would send Nikola Jovic, Andrew Wiggins, the 20th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, their 2030 first-round pick, and a 2026 second-round pick to the Suns. In exchange, Miami would receive KD. As another part of the trade, the Brooklyn Nets would get Duncan Robinson, Keshad Johnson, a 2029 first-round swap (top-4 protected), a 2031 first-round swap (top-4 protected), and a 2031 second-round pick (via better of Indiana and Miami).
It would certainly be a big offer from the Heat as they look to jump back into the championship contention picture in the Eastern Conference. The question is, will this be enough for Miami to beat out the likes of the San Antonio Spurs, the Houston Rockets, and others in a potential bidding war for KD's services? Secondly, would this move alone make the Heat a contender in the East?
Would this trade make the Heat a contender?
If this is the deal that would deliver KD to the Heat, the team would be left with a pretty shaky supporting cast around Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and KD. In what could be considered as close to a best-case scenario for the team, if they were to pull off a trade of KD, the Heat would still have Davion Mitchell (assuming he is re-signed), Kel'el Ware, Kyle Anderson, Haywood Highsmith, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Pelle Larsson. Is that enough to help vault the Heat up the East hierarchy next season?
That could be a difficult question to answer, considering it's impossible to predict how much Mitchell, Ware, and Jaquez are going to continue developing. The same could be said about Herro and Bam, who would almost certainly improve individually as players by the simple addition of KD to the team.
Playing next to a player as great as KD is will absolutely take a ton of pressure off their star duo. Whether the trio could compete with the likes of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers, and New York Knicks remains to be seen. However, the Heat have historically been a team that is willing to roll the dice and take big risks on talent.
If the Heat were to make the move for KD, this would be just another example of the front office betting on talent and worrying about fit and supporting cast later. Miami has had success with this tactic in the past, and it will certainly be interesting to see if it works this time around.
While a big offseason acquisition (seemingly one for KD) is far from a guarantee, one thing is clear. It's that Miami is exploring many options to try and acquire KD. And they may have just enough to pull it off.