{"id":60163,"date":"2025-05-10T08:19:39","date_gmt":"2025-05-10T08:19:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=60163"},"modified":"2025-05-10T08:20:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-10T08:20:08","slug":"heat-forecasted-as-top-suitor-for-194-million-star-in-potential-blockbuster-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=60163","title":{"rendered":"Heat &#8216;Forecasted&#8217; as Top Suitor for $194 Million Star in Potential Blockbuster Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2180637810-e1746857168547.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2180637810-e1746857168547.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2180637810-e1746857168547.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2180637810-e1746857168547.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Heat 'Forecasted' as Top Suitor for $194 Million Star in Potential Blockbuster Trade\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p>Miami Heat president Pat Riley hints at blockbuster trade this summer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Miami Heat are one of the two teams heavily linked to Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant in a potential blockbuster trade this summer, NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer reported on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Heat are frequently forecasted as a team, along with Minnesota, expected to show trade interest this offseason in Phoenix\u2019s Kevin Durant,\u201d Stein and Fischer wrote.<\/p>\n<p>The Heat and the Minnesota Timberwolves were among the group of teams with whom Durant had mutual interest back at the trade deadline, ESPN\u2019s Shams Charania reported in April. That group also included the New York Knicks, Houston Rockets and the San Antonio Spurs.<\/p>\n<p>Durant has one season left on his four-year, $194 million contract. He is due for $54.7 million next season and is extension-eligible this summer.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Pat Riley Vows Sweeping Change in Miami<\/h2>\n<p>After the Heat\u2019s embarrassing sweep in the first round, team president Pat Riley made it clear they will not be running it back next season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think we do have to make changes,\u201d Riley told reporters during his end-of-season press conference. \u201cThere\u2019s no doubt there has to be some change.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His comments about \u201caging, great player\u201d raised eyebrows, perhaps hinting at a potential Durant trade.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think if you take a look at the Warriors, with Draymond [Green], Steph [Curry] and Jimmy [Butler], you got three 35, 36, 37 guys,\u201d Riley told reporters. \u201cIt\u2019s a perfect time for them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Butler forced his way out of Miami at the February trade deadline after Riley refused to give him the max extension, which the Golden State Warriors readily gave upon his arrival. Now, Riley seems more open to acquiring a player in Butler\u2019s age range.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think an aging great, great player who may not be able to carry a team, together they can rise to the occasion in the playoffs,\u201d Riley continued. \u201cSteph\u2019s injury might hurt them [the Warriors] a little bit, but I saw something very unique with that team. For us, yes, if that player is the right name and the contract is the right length, I still think that an aging player can play. Look at LeBron.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Heat, Suns Talked Jimmy Butler-Kevin Durant Swap<\/h2>\n<p>The Heat and the Phoenix Suns engaged in trade talks involving Durant and Jimmy Butler, ESPN\u2019s Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst reported in February. But the Golden State Warriors also eyed a Durant reunion that complicated the conversations.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>For weeks, the Suns and Warriors and Miami Heat had been playing a high-stakes poker game over Durant and disgruntled Heat star Jimmy Butler. Those talks were well-known as were Suns owner Mat Ishbia\u2019s public and private statements over the past year that he wanted Durant to retire as a Sun. But with the Suns free-falling in the Western Conference picture, the Warriors saw an opportunity to play two hands at once.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Ultimately, the Heat sent Butler to the Warriors after Durant nixed a reunion with the Warriors.<\/p>\n<p>Durant chose to stay and finish the season in Phoenix. It ended in disappointment as the Suns did not make it to the playoffs, not even the Play-in Tournament.<\/p>\n<p>The epic failure of their Big 3 experiment of Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal led to coach Mike Budenholzer\u2019s firing and Brian Gregory replacing James Jones as the Suns\u2019 general manager.<\/p>\n<h2>Leaked Suns\u2019 Intel Hints at Major Roster Overhaul<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_5277627\">\n<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/GettyImages-1728853647-e1739930078169.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" alt=\"Heat 'Forecasted' as Top Suitor for $194 Million Star in Potential Blockbuster Trade\" width=\"782\" height=\"439\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5277627\" data-lazy-load=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5277627\">Getty (L-R) Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns watch from the bench.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Suns\u2019 disappointing finish pushed them to reconsider their roster-building philosophy.<\/p>\n<p>NBA insider Chris Haynes reported that they are moving on from the Big 3 model, which did not result in any playoff success over the last two seasons.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne thing that I was told is that the Suns want to transition,\u201d\u00a0Haynes said on \u201cHaynes\u2019 Briefs\u201d\u00a0on April 18. \u201cThey want to move away from the model that they\u2019ve been going after for the previous two years of accumulating star talent, star players and then trying to see if it can mesh on the court. They want to move away from that and they are going to move away from that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, the purpose right now and the goal moving into next season is to accumulate defensive-minded tough players. They want to play a defensive-minded, grind-it-out type of game. They want to have a product on a court that fans can appreciate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With Booker untouchable and Beal having a no-trade clause, Durant is the Suns\u2019 most valuable trade chip to reshape their roster.<\/p>\n<p>Alder Almo is a basketball journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has more than 15 years of experience in local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Alder is from the Philippines and is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo<\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stay updated on the Heat&#8217;s plans as they eye a potential blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant this summer in the NBA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":60167,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Heat &#039;Forecasted&#039; as Top Suitor for $194 Million Star in Potential Blockbuster Trade - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=60163\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Heat &#039;Forecasted&#039; as Top Suitor for $194 Million Star in Potential Blockbuster Trade - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Stay updated on the Heat&#039;s plans as they eye a potential blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant this summer in the NBA.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=60163\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-10T08:19:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-10T08:20:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Thiet-ke-chua-co-ten-105.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrLuu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrLuu\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=60163\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=60163\",\"name\":\"Heat 'Forecasted' as Top Suitor for $194 Million Star in Potential Blockbuster Trade - News 365\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=60163#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=60163#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Thiet-ke-chua-co-ten-105.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-10T08:19:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-10T08:20:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=60163#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=60163\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=60163#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Thiet-ke-chua-co-ten-105.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Thiet-ke-chua-co-ten-105.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=60163#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Heat &#8216;Forecasted&#8217; as Top Suitor for $194 Million Star in Potential Blockbuster Trade\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"News 365\",\"description\":\"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6\",\"name\":\"MrLuu\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MrLuu\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?author=6\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Heat 'Forecasted' as Top Suitor for $194 Million Star in Potential Blockbuster Trade - News 365","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=60163","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Heat 'Forecasted' as Top Suitor for $194 Million Star in Potential Blockbuster Trade - News 365","og_description":"Stay updated on the Heat's plans as they eye a potential blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant this summer in the NBA.","og_url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=60163","og_site_name":"News 365","article_published_time":"2025-05-10T08:19:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-05-10T08:20:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Thiet-ke-chua-co-ten-105.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"MrLuu","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MrLuu","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=60163","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=60163","name":"Heat 'Forecasted' as Top Suitor for $194 Million Star in Potential Blockbuster Trade - News 365","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=60163#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=60163#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Thiet-ke-chua-co-ten-105.jpg","datePublished":"2025-05-10T08:19:39+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-10T08:20:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=60163#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=60163"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=60163#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Thiet-ke-chua-co-ten-105.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Thiet-ke-chua-co-ten-105.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=60163#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Heat &#8216;Forecasted&#8217; as Top Suitor for $194 Million Star in Potential Blockbuster Trade"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/","name":"News 365","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6","name":"MrLuu","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MrLuu"},"url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?author=6"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=60163"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60168,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60163\/revisions\/60168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/60167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=60163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=60163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=60163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}