In the immediate aftermath of Kevin Durant’s highly-publicized trade request, reporting indicated that they were two teams for whom he wanted to play. One, the Phoenix Suns, are in the tricky position of trying to figure out Deandre Ayton’s restricted free agency, while the Brooklyn Nets would reportedly want Devin Booker back in a deal that sent Durant to Phoenix.
The other was the Miami Heat, which were a tough sell because they just do not have much to trade — Bam Adebayo, the team’s best young player, cannot be moved to the Nets due to a provision in his contract that likewise exists in that of Ben Simmons. Despite that, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports that no team is putting in more work to make something happen for Durant than Pat Riley and co.
Notable Kevin Durant update from @wojespn:
– Heat are “most determined” to land Kevin Durant
– Heat, Suns will “need some help” from other teams to help facilitate Durant deal
– No progress with Raptors for Durant because Scottie Barnes is a “non-starter” in trade negotiations pic.twitter.com/OJ8LlDRNYx— Evan Sidery (@esidery) July 12, 2022
“The Miami Heat certainly have been one of the most determined teams to try to acquire Kevin Durant since he asked for that trade,” Wojnarowski said. “They’ve talked to Brooklyn here in Las Vegas, and ultimately, for Miami and Brooklyn specifically to do a deal, they’re gonna need a third team, perhaps even a fourth team.”
The Heat are very, very good at finding a way to make something happen in an effort to bring a superstar to South Beach. Time will tell if they’ll be able to do that with Durant.