Report: Kevin Durant Was ‘Open’ To Getting Traded To Heat

According to NBA insiders Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst of ESPN, Kevin Durant was open to getting traded to the Miami Heat. 

The Suns and Heat discussed a Durant trade featuring Jimmy Butler. 

“Durant, however, would have been open to playing for the Heat, sources said, so Miami debated cutting the Warriors out completely and dealing Butler to Phoenix for Durant, sources said,” Shelburne and Windhorst wrote. “Pat Riley, after all, had wanted Durant for years. In 2016, Riley landed one of the famous meetings in the Hamptons where Durant took pitches from various teams and the Warriors closed by getting Curry to sell Durant on a partnership. Riley had tried again in 2019 when Durant left Golden State for the Brooklyn Nets but ended up pulling off a shrewd sign-and-trade for Butler that summer instead.

“It was there to be done, Durant to Miami, and the teams traded proposals, sources said. But Phoenix, which paid for Durant in 2023 with four first-round picks and three pick swaps to Brooklyn, was seeking significant compensation for the player, who is now 36 and under contract for just one more season. Ultimately, Miami felt it would be mortgaging its future by going down the path with Durant, sources said, and they decided not to move forward in the talks. The third attempt to land Durant would not be the charm for Riley and Heat.”

The Suns kept Durant and Bradley Beal, while the Heat traded Butler to the Golden State Warriors for Andrew Wiggins. 

Durant has played for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Warriors, Brooklyn Nets and Suns. He has career averages of 27.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists. 

A four-time scoring champion, Durant is sixth in NBA history in points per game. 

Durant is averaging 26.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists this season while shooting 52.4% from the field, 39.8% from beyond the arc and 82.7% from the free-throw line. The NBA icon is making $51.2 million. 

An NBA source has told Hoops Wire that Durant could request a trade from the Suns in the offseason. 

KD is not happy the Suns took trade calls on him and almost traded him to the Warriors.