Kevin Durant to the Miami Heat? Odds are growing that the forward will take his talents to South Beach
It has been almost two weeks since it became known that Kevin Durant had demanded the Brooklyn Nets to be traded to another team, the reality is that the team has not received an offer commensurate with the compensation they are seeking for the star forward, however, there is an interesting option that is slowly cooking.
The Miami Heat, who had the best record in the Eastern Conference last season and fell one win short of reaching the NBA Finals after being eliminated in Game 7 by the Boston Celtics, is according to a report by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski the team that is most determined to try to put together a proposal to obtain KD.
Pros and cons of Durant’s hypothetical arrival in Miami
The good news in South Beach is that, according to the original report, the Heat and Phoenix Suns would be Durant’s two favorite destinations, however, the bad news is that for this deal to close, Miami would need help.
According to NBA rules, a team cannot have in its roster two players acquired via a trade with a Designated Rookie deal, Brooklyn has in its ranks Ben Simmons in that status and, according to the same reports of Wojnarowski, the key player in this possible negotiation would be Bam Adebayo, who is also in this condition.
Certainly, the Nets would be the first interested in trading Simmons, however, this player would have to go to a third team in this scenario, which would involve a multi-team negotiation, which is not simple to close.
Raptors are unwilling to trade Scottie Barnes to get Kevin Durant
Another team that is reported as a possible partner to obtain Durant is the Toronto Raptors, however, the Canadian team would not be willing to include Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes in the deal, so it seems that this option is, for the moment, extremely cold.