What Celtics offer means in Kevin Durant sweepstakes

The Miami Heat aren’t necessarily moving and shaking right now and with the way that things are playing out, they may have to regroup and formulate another plan of attack before it’s all said and done.

In case you haven’t been awake since the free agency period started in the NBA, at the very latest, or aren’t a fan of the NBA, the Miami Heat, among many other teams apparently, have been trying to land Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets.

Among a few other candidates for trade, all seemingly just as expensive, Durant is the top priority for them and others though, obviously, as he’s a top-three player in the league right now, minimally, and one of the best to ever lace them up in the NBA.

Back to the “among many other teams apparently” being interested part of it all though, the latest reports surrounding the matter should only serve to complicate things for the Miami Heat. First, here is that blurb, it comes per Shams Charania of The Athletic (subscription required) and concerns the team that just directly prevented the Miami Heat from reaching the NBA Finals.

The Miami Heat are still holding out to land a big trade on the market. Are the latest Kevin Durant offers a bad omen to their chances of landing him though?

The Celtics offered Brown, guard Derrick White and a draft pick to the Nets for Durant, sources said. The proposal was rejected, and Brooklyn has asked Boston — in any proposal — to include Brown, Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, draft picks and potentially one more rotation player, those sources added.

Currently, the Celtics are less inclined to include Smart along with multiple other player assets or pick assets, but the franchise is mulling over next steps on how to approach discussions.

Well, there are a few ways to look at this if you are the Miami Heat, perhaps advantageously as the impending potential fracturing of the team that just sent you packing in the playoffs or—as a bar that’s been set so high by the team you are hoping to deal with, that you can’t possibly reach or surpass it.

When it comes to the Miami Heat, can they beat a package that includes Derrick White, a draft pick, and Jaylen Brown? They only could if it includes Bam Adebayo, who the Nets want anway but keep in mind, they turned that offer down from the Celtics.

It would take Adebayo and Tyler Herro as starters to begin to match the Nets’ actual ask, a package including Marcus Smart, Brown, and a ton of draft capital. Though Pat Riley is a magician that has been known to consistently pull rabbits out of his hat, you just want to maintain some semblance of a sense of reality about it all.

Only time will tell what all happens with Kevin Durant, if anything, but it isn’t looking great for the Miami Heat’s chances of landing him.