The Miami Heat may not be able to realistically enter the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes (if he ends up hitting the trade market), but the overwhelming expectation is that they’re going to explore a blockbuster move for Kevin Durant. However, one of Miami’s bitter rivals could end up completely spoiling their offseason plans.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, not only was there mutual interest between KD and the New York Knicks ahead of this past year’s NBA Trade Deadline, but the Heat’s rival went all the way to make an official offer for the superstar wing. Even though the Phoenix Suns ultimately decided against such a move, you can’t help but wonder if this is an option that could be explored once again this summer
If so, it’s going to make the Heat’s likelihood of landing KD that much more difficult. Even without the inclusion of the Knicks, there’s already a pretty healthy trade market for KD. You’d assume the two Texas teams, San Antonio and Houston, will both be interested in KD to a certain extent. The same could be said about a few other potential dark horse teams across the league. If the Knicks enter that mix, it could create a much bigger headache than Miami would like to deal with.
How aggressive should the Heat be in pursuing Kevin Durant?
I suppose the big question the Heat must be attempting to answer over the next couple of weeks revolves around how aggressive they want to be in their pursuit of KD. In theory, even in a best-case scenario for Miami, a trade of KD is probably going to cost a couple of first-round picks, a salary filler or two, and a young player. And that’s under the assumption that the asking price has dropped a littleDoes Miami want to be that aggressive in a potential trade of KD? Are the Heat willing to sacrifice that much for a 37-year-old superstar past his prime, who may still not be enough to carry this team to legitimate title contention in the Eastern Conference?
Over the last two decades, the Heat has built an organization that pursues the big-name stars and worries about the rest later. However, the way championship teams are currently built has changed so much in the last five years. It should create some natural hesitation regarding any pursuit of KD. That doesn’t mean it will.
The Heat should still pursue KD and explore the market. And if it makes sense, they should be willing to make a competitive offer. That said, there’s no question the path to KD is going to be much more difficult if the Knicks are suddenly in the mix. New York hasn’t had much success over Miami on the basketball court in recent years. However, they could have enough to beat them off it, especially when it comes to a potential bidding war for KD
