For much of this season, it was natural for Miami Heat fans to dream about the "what if" of a Kevin Durant trade. However, now that he could end up missing the first two games of the NBA Playoffs (and possibly more), the Heat may be fully vindicated for their decision to ultimately pass on making a deal.
The Heat were harshly criticized for not being willing to go to the extreme lengths of including Kel'el Ware in an offer for KD, with some of it coming from within the fan base. Ultimately, though, it does seem as if the front office made the right choice.
Miami would certainly have been a better regular-season team with KD. I don't believe there's much debate about that. But not having KD available for the postseason, even if it is just the first few games, proves the Heat's hesitation to go all-in for the 37-year-old superstar was spot on.
That's exactly the dilemma that the Houston Rockets find themselves in, as they face a potential of not having KD healthy for Game 2 of their first-round NBA playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers.
KD is still currently listed as questionable.
The Heat were right to pass on Kevin Durant
Looking back, perhaps the Heat were 100 percent right to keep their best assets out of a potential deal for KD.
Of course, this is all revisionist history at this point. But I don't think there are any questions about it now, especially with the flashes that Ware showed this season. Miami was right not to put everything on the table for KD.
And part of that reasoning was a potential scenario that is currently playing out in Houston.
It's not even necessarily the forward-thinking from the Heat, projecting that KD was going to struggle with an injury at the worst possible time. But it's the idea that it was always a very real possibility, and perhaps with a higher likelihood of it happening because KD is an aging star player.
Naturally, the older a player gets, the chances of injuries grows.
Again, KD's injury may have been a freak accident and unpredictable, but the Heat have to get some credit for not burning some assets on a move that they would've quickly grown to regret at the most important time of the year.
Perhaps most importantly, the decision not to pursue KD strongly keeps their options open heading into this offseason, whether that be for Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, Ja Morant, or another star player who could hit the trade market.
The Heat's front office hasn't gotten much right over the last couple of seasons, but it does feel as if they ultimately made the right decision on the KD front, despite the initial criticism.
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