NBA Insider Reveals Heat's Possible Kevin Durant Trade Package
NBA Insider Reveals Heat's Possible Kevin Durant Trade Package originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Miami Heat have become real players in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes as of late.
Durant's tenure as a member of the Phoenix Suns is set to come to a close this summer, and the Heat will surely attempt to take advantage of his imminent departure.
Advertisement
Miami's team president Pat Riley will be pushing for the franchise to be uber-aggressive this offseason with regard to trading for a superstar, and the 36-year-old future Hall of Fame inductee could become the Heat's top priority.
With Durant's prospective suitors getting set to take their shot at acquiring the legendary 15-time All-Star, Spotrac's Keith Smith joined the Locked on Heat podcast to discuss some of the Heat's best tradable assets with regard to a potential deal.
Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant gestures to the referee for a foul call against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena.Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
"As far as the talent on the roster, I think the challenge is (that) a year ago, Jaime Jaquez (Jr.) looked like this guy who, 'Hey, maybe we can plug this guy in as a starter just about anywhere and feel really good about it," Smith told Locked on Heat hosts Wes Goldberg and David Ramil on Tuesday.
Advertisement
"I think he backslid enough this year that there's at least some questions of, 'What happened?"
Diving further into the potential key pieces of a Durant deal, Smith also suggested that several players with large expiring contracts could be used to facilitate a trade with the Suns.
"It sounds crazy to say it because I know Heat fans are like, 'Get Terry Rozier as far away from this team as they can.' But the good news is he's an expiring contract."
"Same thing with a guy like Duncan Robinson, expiring deal worth nearly $20 million. Those have value, again, in the league."
If the Heat were to pull off a blockbuster transaction to land Durant, the trio of Jaime Jaquez Jr., Terry Rozier and Duncan Robinson could be a great starting point.
Advertisement
For Phoenix, it's likely that Jaquez Jr. could pique their interests as a 2024 All-Rookie First Team selection and continually developing forward.
With added first-round draft capital being thrown into the mix, a package centered around Jaquez Jr. might just be enough for the Suns and Heat to shake hands on a possible deal.
Durant's prospective acquisition would be a franchise-altering decision for the Heat, as it would firmly place the franchise as a dark-horse Eastern Conference contender in 2025-26.
In 62 contests for the Suns this past season, Durant contributed 26.6 points and 6.0 rebounds on a ridiculous 64.2% true shooting percentage, proving that he could certainly make an impact next to another star scorer like the Heat's first-time All-Star Tyler Herro.
Advertisement
Related: Shams Charania Links 5 Teams to Suns Star Kevin Durant in Trade Talks
Related: Blockbuster NBA Trade Idea Lands Suns' Kevin Durant With LeBron James' Old Team
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
29 minutes ago
- USA Today
Former Tennessee forward to play in NBA Summer League
Former Tennessee basketball forward Igor Mililic Jr. will play in Salt Lake City Summer League and the NBA Summer League. He signed with Philadelphia following the NBA draft. The Salt Lake City Summer League will take place July 5-8 in Salt Lake City, Utah and the NBA Summer League is slated for July 10-20 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Milicic Jr. played for the Vols during after the 2024-25 season after transferring from Charlotte and Virginia. In his one season at Tennessee, Milicic Jr. appeared in 37 games, including 37 starts. He is tied for fourth in most starts in program history. The former Vol averaged 9.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game, while playing 25.4 minutes per contest. He was the Vols' leading rebounder and defensive rebounder (4.8 per game). Milicic Jr. recorded a .472 field goal percentage, .315 three-point field goal percentage and a .735 free throw percentage. Mililic Jr. recorded four double-doubles and was fourth for Tennessee in made field goals (125). Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Wings' Paige Bueckers makes WNBA history with performance vs. Fever
The post Wings' Paige Bueckers makes WNBA history with performance vs. Fever appeared first on ClutchPoints. Paige Bueckers made incredible WNBA history during Friday's matchup between the Dallas Wings and Indiana Fever. Advertisement In 36 minutes of action, Bueckers lit up the nets against the Fever's defense. She put up a stat line of 27 points, six assists, two steals, two blocks, and a rebound. She shot 9-of-18 from the field, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, and 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. Her efforts helped her set a new WNBA record, per Polymarket Hoops. She became the first player to have a stat line of 25 or more points, five or more assists, two or more steals, two or more blocks, and zero turnovers. How Paige Bueckers, Wings played against Fever Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Despite Paige Bueckers' historic night, it wasn't enough as the Wings suffered a 94-86 loss to the Fever at home. Advertisement Despite missing Caitlin Clark due to injury, the Fever jumped out to a 33-13 lead and never looked back. Even though the Wings cut the deficit to single digits as time went on, they were unable to recover from their slow start. Indiana was highly effective with its shot selection, making 59.3% of their total attempts. This is in significant contrast to the 42.6% shot accuracy from Dallas' end. Rebounding also played a role as the Fever beat the Wings 32-23 in that area. Three players scored in double-digits on Dallas' behalf, including Bueckers. Arike Ogunbowale finished with 15 points, a rebound, an assist, a steal, and a block. She shot 5-of-12 overall, including 1-of-4 from downtown, and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Aziaha James came next with 14 points and two assists, Myisha Hines-Allen had nine points and three assists, while NaLyssa Smith and Li Yueru provided seven points each. Dallas fell to a 4-13 record on the season, remaining at the bottom of the Western Conference standings. They are 1.5 games behind the Los Angeles Sparks and four games behind the Las Vegas Aces. The Wings will look to bounce back in their next matchup, remaining at home. They host the Washington Mystics on June 28 at 8 p.m. ET. Related: Wings' Paige Bueckers reveals how Kyrie Irving inspired 'unguardable' motivation Related: Paige Bueckers reacts to Caitlin Clark missing Fever-Wings game with injury
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Will the NFC East finally have a repeat division winner?
Knowledgeable Commanders fans know the statistic: It's been since 2004 that an NFC East team has repeated as divisional champion. Yes, it was the Eagles; in fact, it was the last of Philadelphia's four consecutive NFC East titles. Strange as it sounds, it's true, no NFC East team has repeated since. Advertisement Kevin Sheehan of Team 980 discussed the phenomenon on Friday. Sheehan pointed out that four writers covering the four NFC East teams had a dialogue/story this week discussing the NFC East in 2025. John Keim, Washington's ESPN beat reporter, predicted that the Eagles will break the string and win the division. Keim basically said, How can you go against the Eagles after the season they had last year? Keim did point out that the Commanders do have the quarterback to threaten the Eagles, but remaining objective, had to admit what we all know is the major question mark for Washington in 2025. Will their defense make a large enough jump to challenge the Eagles for the division title in 2025? Sheehan cautioned Commanders fans not to overlook the fact that the Cowboys do have good offensive talent in quarterback Dak Prescott, receiver CeeDee Lamb, and, now this offseason, they added receiver George Pickens. The best Cowboy is Micah Parsons, and they drafted a highly regarded pass rusher and signed former Commanders edge rusher Dante Fowler. The Giants will be very strong on the defensive line. Their defense has been good, and they added Abdul Carter (EDGE) in the draft. Can Russell Wilson bring them steady play at quarterback? If Wilson doesn't get the job done, will Jameis Winston prove to be adequate? Or, do the Giants turn to rookie Jaxson Dart? Receiver Malik Nabers (LSU) exhibited enough last season to prove he is the real deal. The Eagles have stud defensive tackles, the best linebacker in the division, the best running back, the best offensive line and perhaps the best duo of wide receivers. They ran the ball down Washington's throat in the NFC Championship game and entirely dominated the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Can the Commanders overtake the Eagles to keep NFC East streak intact
