The Miami Heat have been at the epicenter of the NBA trade rumor mill for the past few weeks in the midst of Kevin Durant‘s ongoing trade saga.
Durant and the Phoenix Suns have been working to find a mutually beneficial trade partner, and the Heat have been labeled as a top contender to land the 15-time All-Star, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Aside from the possibility of welcoming one of the game’s greatest talents aboard, the Heat also have free agency to worry about.
In fact, their veteran shooting guard and soon-to-be unrestricted free agent Alec Burks has made it evident that he wishes for the Miami Heat to have him return, per Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang. Unfortunately for Burks, the Durant trade sweepstakes are currently reaching a fever pitch.
“As the Miami Heat waits on a resolution to the Kevin Durant sweepstakes, veteran guard Alec Burks will soon be working toward finding a resolution to his uncertain NBA future,” Chiang wrote Tuesday.
“The only thing I’m looking at is coming back here,” Burks himself told Chiang during a recent Jr. Heat Basketball Camp event.
“I just like being here. I like the city. The city shows me a lot of love and my family, I like the organization, everybody I work with.”
While it’s not unreasonable for the 33-year-old to request a new contract from the organization he’s come to love playing for, the Heat may not get back to him right away due to more pressing matters.
Durant’s potential acquisition is likely the only thing on Heat team president Pat Riley‘s mind at the moment, so Burks will have to wait until Durant finds a new home to begin negotiations with the team on a new deal.
Burks’ impending free agency being placed on the backburner is not necessarily a reflection of him as a player. His 2024-25 campaign with the Heat was actually quite noteworthy.
In 49 appearances with the Heat this past season, the 14-year veteran connected on a blistering 42.5% of his 4.2 attempts from three-point range, proving to be one of the best shooters from a percentage standpoint in the entire Association.
If Durant were to join the Heat alongside Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo and play under legendary head coach Erik Spoelstra, Burks’ eventual re-signing on a team-friendly deal should become one of Riley’s top priorities.
