{"id":68958,"date":"2025-06-11T07:17:21","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T07:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=68958"},"modified":"2025-06-11T07:18:19","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T07:18:19","slug":"stephen-a-smith-says-heat-should-go-all-in-on-2-time-champ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=68958","title":{"rendered":"Stephen A. Smith Says Heat Should Go All-In on 2-Time Champ"},"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\/06\/GettyImages-2204818615-e1749543304727.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2204818615-e1749543304727.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2204818615-e1749543304727.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2204818615-e1749543304727.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Stephen A. Smith Says Heat Should Go All-In on 2-Time Champ\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Photo by Kenneth Richmond\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>Kevin Durant could join the Miami Heat<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Miami Heat will head into the 2025 offseason with the hope of adding a true superstar to the roster. Pat Riley will want to replace what the Heat lost when Jimmy Butler forced his way out of the franchise around the Feb. 6 trade deadline.<\/p>\n<p>ESPN\u2019s Stephen A. Smith believes Kevin Durant would be the ideal addition to Miami\u2019s roster. The future Hall of Fame forward is expected to leave the Phoenix Suns this summer.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_wjh1cca35\">\u201cThey need all the help they can get,\u201d Smith said via ESPN\u2019s First Take. \u201cThey need a No. 1 option, they can play defense, and Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo ain\u2019t no scrubs. They just need a No. 1 option. That wasn\u2019t Jimmy Butler. We love him, but that wasn\u2019t him. That\u2019s KD. He\u2019s gonna give you 27 a night.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_wjh1cca35\">Durant is likely to create somewhat of a bidding war for his services. Even at 36 years old, he\u2019s still one of the premier talents in the league. As such, multiple teams will likely put together a trade package to pry him away from Phoenix. Therefore, Miami may face an uphill battle to acquire the 2-time NBA champion.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_wjh1cca35\">Riley\u2019s biggest issue will be that Miami doesn\u2019t have enough tradeable assets to piece together an enticing trade package. And, even if the Heat were successful in their pursuit of Durant, it would gut their roster and leave them needing to retool the entire supporting cast.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2 data-mm-id=\"_wjh1cca35\">Heat Encouraged to Take a Gap Year<\/h2>\n<p>Dan Favale of Bleacher Report believes Miami should consider pursuing a \u2018gap year\u2019 strategy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWithout a clear present-day or future solution already on the roster, the Heat must look outward,\u201d Favale wrote. |And that should lead them to an awkward realization: They\u2019re better off taking a gap year. Miami doesn\u2019t have any money to throw around in free agency but could have $30-plus million in space next summer, when they also control their own first-round pick. Taking a step back now makes more sense than prematurely pursuing a trade or pretending as if the Heat\u2019s roster is built to yield a solution without a significant addition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Under Riley, the Heat have never willingly allowed a season to slip away. Therefore, it\u2019s unlikely that we will see Miami begin building for 2026. Still, with limited assets available and a disjointed roster, planning a reset next summer is likely the Heat\u2019s best move.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Heat Could Look Toward DeMar DeRozan<\/h2>\n<p>If the Heat opts against a gap year, and they fall short in their pursuit of Durant, then DeMar DeRozan could emerge as a trade target. DeRozan joined the Sacramento Kings last summer, but the current uncertainty surrounding their roster means he could be available.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is highly unlikely that all three of\u00a0Duncan Robinson,\u00a0Terry Rozier, and\u00a0Andrew Wiggins begin the 2025-26 season on Miami\u2019s roster,\u201d Brett Siegel reported via ClutchPoints. \u201cDeMar DeRozan is once again viewed by other teams as a potential target for Riley and the Heat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>DeRozan would be a solid pickup for the Heat. He may not be a superstar like Durant, but he could still anchor the offense and provide some much-needed playmaking. Of course, there is a chance Sacramento looks to push forward with the current core. However, if Miami came knocking and had Kel\u2019el Ware or Jaime Jaquez Jr. on offer, the Kings may be tempted to negotiate for their veteran forward.<\/p>\n<p>Adam Taylor is a basketball reporter covering the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns for Heavy. He has also written for CelticsBlog, USA Today, Yardbarker and FanSided. Adam has a bachelor\u2019s degree in creative writing from Open University. More about Adam Taylor<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The ESPN anchor pinpointed the Miami Heat as the ideal landing spot for the two-time NBA champion this summer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":68966,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68958","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>Stephen A. Smith Says Heat Should Go All-In on 2-Time Champ - 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=68958\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stephen A. Smith Says Heat Should Go All-In on 2-Time Champ - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The ESPN anchor pinpointed the Miami Heat as the ideal landing spot for the two-time NBA champion this summer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=68958\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-11T07:17:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-11T07:18:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/53b56f49f6a6113d6a1fc51a11e1a4c3.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"427\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\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=68958\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=68958\",\"name\":\"Stephen A. Smith Says Heat Should Go All-In on 2-Time Champ - News 365\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=68958#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=68958#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/53b56f49f6a6113d6a1fc51a11e1a4c3.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-11T07:17:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-11T07:18:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=68958#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=68958\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=68958#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/53b56f49f6a6113d6a1fc51a11e1a4c3.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/53b56f49f6a6113d6a1fc51a11e1a4c3.webp\",\"width\":640,\"height\":427},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=68958#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Stephen A. Smith Says Heat Should Go All-In on 2-Time Champ\"}]},{\"@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":"Stephen A. Smith Says Heat Should Go All-In on 2-Time Champ - 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=68958","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Stephen A. Smith Says Heat Should Go All-In on 2-Time Champ - News 365","og_description":"The ESPN anchor pinpointed the Miami Heat as the ideal landing spot for the two-time NBA champion this summer","og_url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=68958","og_site_name":"News 365","article_published_time":"2025-06-11T07:17:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-11T07:18:19+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":427,"url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/53b56f49f6a6113d6a1fc51a11e1a4c3.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"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=68958","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=68958","name":"Stephen A. Smith Says Heat Should Go All-In on 2-Time Champ - News 365","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=68958#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=68958#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/53b56f49f6a6113d6a1fc51a11e1a4c3.webp","datePublished":"2025-06-11T07:17:21+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-11T07:18:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=68958#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=68958"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=68958#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/53b56f49f6a6113d6a1fc51a11e1a4c3.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/53b56f49f6a6113d6a1fc51a11e1a4c3.webp","width":640,"height":427},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=68958#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Stephen A. Smith Says Heat Should Go All-In on 2-Time Champ"}]},{"@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\/68958","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=68958"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68965,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68958\/revisions\/68965"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/68966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=68958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=68958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=68958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}