The Miami Heat are approaching a pivotal moment of the offseason as the 2025 NBA Draft, in which they own the No. 20 overall pick, quickly approaches. This pick offers them an opportunity to select a promising young talent. The Heat are in a weird spot in the draft. Do they use their draft pick or use it in a trade to attempt to acquire Kevin Durant?
The Heat have an important offseason coming up. The Heat needs to acquire a superstar-type player. It is easier said than done, however, after missing out on stars during the Jimmy Butler era. The Heat needs to land a star to help appease the fan base.
The Heat have had an interest in Kevin Durant since 2016. Everyone in the league knows that Durant will get traded; rumors are that Durant will be traded around the NBA Draft. It has been reported that Durant and Miami have mutual interest.
The complexities of trading for Kevin Durant
Despite Miami's interest, acquiring Durant presents challenges. The Suns are seeking a significant return. The Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, and the Miami Heat have been told that Durant wants to play for those three teams.
Durant playing for the Heat would be a needed bolt of energy from the organization down to the fan base. Last year was such a rough watch on so many levels. Durant would open so many things for Miami on offense.
Durant would join Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, forming a trio in the Eastern Conference. His scoring ability and experience would bolster Miami's championship aspirations.
A backup plan for the Heat
If the Heat cannot come up with a trade for Durant or another star player, then they should use their draft pick to select Nolan Traoré. Traoré has upside with his size and speed, but he's an inefficient scorer who needs to make better decisions.
He's one of the fastest players in this draft class. He's able to go coast-to-coast with the ball in his hands, and with NBA spacing, he could thrive getting downhill in the pick-and-roll, which the Heat desperately need. If he's able to develop a knockdown jumper, he could be tough to stop because of his ways of creating separation.
For now, he's at his best when he's attacking. He is a point guard that the Heat needs. He makes the right pass and can run a pick and roll. He needs to develop his jumper and learn how to play defense at the next level.
However, if Miami were to select Traore, the Heat would be known for improving jumpers, and he won't play for Erik Spoelstra if he doesn't defend.
The Heat needs to pick a direction this year. You will tell by how they use the 20th pick this year to see where this team will be going in the future.