Before the February trade deadline, rumors were abound about the Miami Heat’s interest in trading for Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant. A report from Five Reasons Sports around the deadline indicated that the Heat were “direct” regarding their trade interest in Durant “on multiple levels.”
Fast forward a few months, and a report from Greg Sylvander of Five Reasons Sports suggests that the Heat should still be kept in mind as potential players for the two-time NBA champion.
According to what Sylvander has heard, there are many folks who think Miami’s lone first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft could be used to add Durant. Sylvander also listed three prospects who could be in the mix for the Heat if they end up keeping their No. 20 overall pick.
“1. Lots of people think this pick could end up in a KD trade,” Sylvander wrote via Discord.
“2. The three names that come up most in convos about the Heat at pick 20 are Jase Richardson from Michigan State, Rasheer Fleming of Saint Josephs and Kam Jones of Marquette.”
With that in mind, Sylvander also made sure to remind folks that there’s still a ways to go in the draft process. The 2025 NBA Draft is over one month away, as it’s slated to begin on June 25.
“I want to caution everyone that it’s still pretty early for alot of intel to fly on workouts….but it’s approaching,” he wrote.
Last but not least, Sylvander rattled off two other prospects the Heat have been linked to, but he clarified that that information is “less recent.”
“And again, the Heat have scouted Walter Clayton Jr. of Florida and Ben Saraf who played in Germany as first round prospects,” he wrote. “But that information is less recent.”
Durant was a premier scorer for the Suns in the 2024-25 campaign all while being a relatively durable player for his age and mileage. The 36-year-old suited up in 62 games for the Suns and averaged 26.6 points per game on 52.7 percent shooting from the field and 43.0 percent shooting from 3-point range.
But his contract situation is one that the Heat will have to keep in mind if they seriously pursue him via trade soon. After all, Durant is set to hit unrestricted free agency after he gets paid nearly $55 million in the upcoming 2025-26 season and could possibly ask for a lucrative contract at that point even despite his advanced age.
Whether Durant is a realistic trade target for the Heat is unclear, but acquiring him would maybe give the Heat their best chance to be competitive in the Eastern Conference next season and for the near future. Miami made the playoffs this season, but it was clear that the team was nowhere near championship contention.
