Kevin Durant is planning to sign an extension with the Houston Rockets, which means the Miami Heat can finally remove him from their list of superstar possibilities.
Many deleted him from the pool of next-star candidates the moment he was traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Houston Rockets. But the two-time finals MVP has yet to sign an extension with his new team. And then, Fred VanVleet suffered what will likely be a season-ending ACL injury, opening the door to KD reconsidering his commitment to the Rockets.
There will be no equivocation on Durant’s part, though. He put to bed any and all speculation during Houston’s Media Day, telling reporters “I do see myself signing a contract extension here [in Houston].”
This will come as a bummer to anyone desperate for Miami to acquire someone, anyone, who qualifies as a top-15 player. But whether you are disappointed, indifferent, or irate that we’re still tangentially linking Durant to the Heat, this update provides untold value in the clarity it sheds.
The Heat can finally move on
So long as the possibility of KD entering free agency remained on the table, Miami would be considered a prospective suitor. Depending on what happens with Andrew Wiggins’ player option next summer, the Heat can carve out more than $30 million spending power without breaking a sweat, and have the capacity to generate even more.
Removing the Durant scenario from the table allows Miami to move on—once and for all. It is also a valuable reminder to the team that cap-space is fast-becoming incredibly overrated. Superstars are more likely to change teams via trade than swap jerseys on the open market.
Durant himself is proof. After leaving his first two teams in free agency, has since been traded to his past two destinations. The Heat are better off focusing on the accumulation of tradeable contracts, draft picks, and prospects. Those will do more to help them land their next star than financial flexibility in 2026, or even 2027.
Brutal truth about Kevin Durant and the Heat
Beyond all of this, if we’re being honest about this case specifically, the Heat are better off without Durant.
Mortgaging any part of their future for a 37-year-old superstar makes zero sense. It would be one thing if he cost them nothing to acquire via trade. He clearly didn’t.
Pursuing him would even be perfectly fine if Miami was an automatic title contender with him in the fold. It’s not. Too much about the roster beyond Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo remains uncertain. And let’s not forget that, whether signing or trading for him, Durant’s arrival would have come at the expense of depth. At least one of Andrew Wiggins and Norman Powell would be out the door, if not both. That says nothing of the depth pieces and youngsters who’d need to be forked over in prospective trades.
In all reality, this is a time for Heat fans to breathe a sigh of relief, maybe even celebrate. KD’s pending extension with the Rockets offers much-needed closure—a chance for the organization to move on to other big names, or perhaps one ultra-specific big name.