Dream: Kevin Durant
The Heat have ranked in the bottom 10 in offensive rating in each of the last two seasons. They lack a bona fide bucket-getter, someone who makes scoring easier. One way to fix that is to get one of the most effortless scorers in NBA history.
At 35, Durant is still one of the best, all-around scorers in the league. He averaged 27.1 points – sixth in the league – on 52% shooting (41% on 3s) for the Phoenix Suns last season. Bringing Durant to Miami would give the Heat their best scorer since LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were teaming up a decade ago.
Beyond the scoring, Durant would also add needed size to Miami’s lineups. He could plug in at forward next to Jimmy Butler and create space for Butler and Bam Adebayo to be even more effective.
But it’s unlikely that Durant leaves the Suns, who replaced Frank Vogel as head coach with Mike Budenholzer and are primed to give their expensive roster another season. Durant chose to play in Phoenix with Devin Booker and he doesn’t seem ready to make yet another move after 1 ½ seasons.
So although Durant would be a perfect fit to lift the Heat’s offense and maximize Butler’s championship window, it’s also a pipe dream.