The Miami Heat are looking to earn back their status as contenders in the Eastern Conference, and maybe the most important step they need to take to regain that status is acquiring a bona fide superstar.

While the Heat did make the 2025 NBA Playoffs, they were swept in the opening round, and nobody on the Heat played like a consistent No. 1 scoring option in their series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Guard Tyler Herro averaged a team-high 17.8 points per game but shot just 41.5 percent from the field and 31.0 percent from 3-point range.

NBA insider Keith Smith of Spotrac expects that the Heat will be linked to any “potential superstars” in the trade market this summer since they are lacking star power.

“Miami has enough wiggle room under the second apron to be aggressive in trades,” Smith wrote. “That’s in part because the team doesn’t have any big-money free agents due for new contracts. Because the Heat are who they are, expect them to be linked to any potential superstars that hit the market this summer.”

One superstar player who ostensibly is available via trade is Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant, and the Heat have been connected to the scoring maestro in recent rumors.

Greg Sylvander of Five Reasons Sports reported that “lots of people” think Miami’s first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft could end up heading to the Suns as part of a Durant deal. The Heat have the No. 20 overall pick in June’s draft.

It also seems as if now is the right time for the Heat to pursue Durant in a trade, as according to The Athletic’s Kelly Iko, the Suns have gradually lowered their asking price for the 15-time All-Star and two-time NBA champion.

Durant has been linked to the Heat for a while now, and he would give the Heat a proven and capable top scoring option. He’s one of the more gifted scorers the league has ever seen, and he’s still scoring the ball at an elite level at his advanced age. Durant averaged 26.6 points per game while shooting 52.7 percent from the field and 43.0 percent from deep with the Suns in the 2024-25 regular season.

It remains to be seen if Durant will soon end up in a Heat uniform, but at the very least, his addition would seemingly make the Heat better equipped to compete in the Eastern Conference in the 2025-26 campaign.