The Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat both had disappointing 2024-25 seasons.
The Suns missed the playoffs and play-in tournament despite having Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. Mike Budenholzer was fired as head coach after just one year in the desert.
Meanwhile, the Heat were forced to trade Jimmy Butler after the All-Star requested a trade. Miami traded Butler to the Golden State Warriors.
While the Heat made the playoffs this year, unlike the Suns, they were swept in the first round by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Suns are widely expected to trade Durant this offseason and one NBA analyst believes the Heat should acquire the future Hall of Famer, who only has one year left on his contract.
Sam Quinn of CBS Sports proposed the following three-team trade idea between the Suns, Heat and Portland Trail Blazers:
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Suns get: Andrew Wiggins, Robert Williams III, Nikola Jović, 2030 first-round pick, 2032 first-round pick
Heat get: Kevin Durant
Trail Blazers get: Duncan Robinson
Durant averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists for the Suns this season while shooting 52.7% from the field, 43.0% from beyond the arc and 83.9% from the free-throw line. He turns 37 in September.
“So, is Durant worth it? The answer is yes, at least if Kel’el Ware continues to grow as the team hopes,” Quinn wrote. “That might not be the case if the Boston Celtics were still at full power, but, with apologies to the Indiana Pacers, the Eastern Conference throne is vacant right
now.
“There is no obvious juggernaut holding it. A team built around Tyler Herro, Durant and Bam Adebayo would have a real chance to seize it. That chance would rise significantly if Ware takes a major step or if the shooting Davion Mitchell showed with the Heat last season persists. Miami always develops depth.”
Durant has career averages of 27.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets and Suns.
KD won two championships and two Finals MVPs with the Warriors but hasn’t gotten back to the NBA Finals since leaving Golden State for Brooklyn in 2019.
It will be fascinating to see where Durant is playing next season. He was linked to the Heat at the February NBA trade deadline.