{"id":69491,"date":"2025-06-13T06:46:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T06:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=69491"},"modified":"2025-06-13T06:46:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T06:46:00","slug":"this-untouchable-rookie-may-be-holding-up-a-kevin-durant-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=69491","title":{"rendered":"This Untouchable Rookie May Be Holding Up a Kevin Durant Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Pat<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Miami Heat<\/a>\u00a0have continued to maintain their aggressiveness towards a potential offseason trade to land the\u00a0Phoenix Suns<\/a>‘\u00a0Kevin Durant<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Heat recently joined the\u00a0Houston Rockets<\/a>,\u00a0San Antonio Spurs<\/a>,\u00a0New York Knicks<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a>\u00a0as Durant’s most likely destinations, according to\u00a0ESPN’s Shams Charania<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As this never-ending trade saga continues, the Heat’s team president\u00a0Pat Riley<\/a>\u00a0will use the next few weeks, or months, to put together the most enticing trade package possible to get the Suns to shake hands on a Durant deal.<\/p>\n

One signature piece of this puzzle could be the Heat’s 2025 All-Rookie Second Team selection center\u00a0Kel’el Ware<\/a>, and\u00a0new updates from the Locked on Heat podcast<\/a>\u00a0have indicated that the team has grown hesitant to throw the promising big into any negotiations.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/picture><\/a><\/figure>\n

“As we’ve reported on the podcast multiple times over the last few weeks, the Heat are reluctant to include Kel’el Ware in a Durant trade,” the Locked on Heat podcast’s X account shared Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Despite the franchise appearing to greatly value their No. 15 overall pick from the 2024\u00a0NBA<\/a>\u00a0Draft, it’s plausible to believe that they could eventually throw him into a future trade.<\/p>\n

“Doesn’t mean they won’t, doesn’t mean they will. Sliding scale when it comes to how many young players\/picks are in a package.”<\/p>\n

After a sensational rookie campaign in 2024-25, Ware certainly increased his trade stock for this summer.<\/p>\n

The lanky and athletic two-way big man contributed 9.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 64 appearances for the Heat this past season, and the 7-footer clearly displayed his potential to become one of the league’s most versatile frontcourt stars.<\/p>\n

While the 21-year-old could blossom into a fantastic center for a competitive team, dealing for Durant in the present is still a tempting opportunity that Riley might not allow to slip through his fingers.<\/p>\n

Durant’s 17th NBA season saw the future Hall of Fame inductee and 15-time All-Star average 26.6 points on a sensational 64.2% true shooting percentage in 62 contests.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, it seems as though Ware may be safe from trade rumors this summer. Even still, a player of Durant’s caliber could require just about every talented prospect that the Heat can offer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0Miami Heat\u00a0have continued to maintain their aggressiveness towards a potential offseason trade to land the\u00a0Phoenix Suns‘\u00a0Kevin Durant. The Heat recently joined the\u00a0Houston Rockets,\u00a0San Antonio Spurs,\u00a0New York Knicks\u00a0and\u00a0Minnesota… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":69497,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\nThis Untouchable Rookie May Be Holding Up a Kevin Durant Deal - 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=69491\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"This Untouchable Rookie May Be Holding Up a Kevin Durant Deal - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The\u00a0Miami Heat\u00a0have continued to maintain their aggressiveness towards a potential offseason trade to land the\u00a0Phoenix Suns‘\u00a0Kevin Durant. 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