The Miami Heat reportedly hold interest in Kevin Durant
Getty
Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns.
Kevin Durant is on the trade block this summer and is almost certain to play somewhere other than Phoenix in 2025-26.
Where that might be, however, remains a question with several possible answers.
ESPN insider Shams Charania addressed the latest intel on the Durant trade saga during a television hit on Monday, June 16.
“I’m told the Phoenix Suns remain in active conversations around the league on a Kevin Durant deal, but their focus over the last several days has been on three teams, and that’s the Miami Heat, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves,” Charania said. “His expiring contract of $54.7 million is going to play a part in this. And I’m told Durant has no desire to be in Minnesota with the Timberwolves. So how does that shape the Minnesota Timberwolves and other teams that could have interest that are outside his preferred list decide how to move forward?”
Kevin Durant Sends Timberwolves Clear Message on Extension
Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves
Getty Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It isn’t the Timberwolves, but the San Antonio Spurs that Durant has named alongside the Heat and the Rockets as his three preferred destinations. Durant, who will turn 37 years old just a few weeks ahead of the start of next season, is willing to ink a contract extension with any of those three franchises. The indication from Charania’s latest report is that he isn’t willing to do the same in Minnesota.
The Golden State Warriors got close to executing a deal for Durant ahead of the NBA’s February trade deadline. However, it fell apart at the 11th hour because the superstar and two-time champion refused a return to the Bay Area.
It doesn’t make sense for the Timberwolves to trade a package of players/assets that includes their defensive anchor Rudy Gobert, in whom the Suns are interested should a Durant deal with Minnesota transpire, if they will only have Durant paired with Anthony Edwards for a single season.
Roadblocks Exist Between Kevin Durant, Trades to Preferred Destinations
Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat
GettyBam Adebayo of the Miami Heat.
The primary roadblock in a deal between the Suns and the Heat for Durant is what Miami can send back for the future Hall of Fame forward that makes sense.
Center Bam Adebayo checks several of the same boxes that Gobert does and could work alongside Devin Booker in the longterm. However, the Heat have been adamant in trade talks over recent years that Adebayo is an untouchable player.
Tyler Herro is coming off his first All-Star season and scored almost 24 points per game in 2024-25, though he is a one-way, ball-dominant player who has struggled with offensive efficiency issues throughout his entire career prior to last year. The Suns are looking for a viable center, which means Adebayo could work, but Herro doesn’t necessarily fit with the direction Phoenix wants to travel.
It is also unclear how much the Rockets are willing to pay for Durant, even though Tim McMahon of ESPN reported via the June 15 edition of “Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective” podcast that Houston would like to have him.
San Antonio’s appetite for taking on Durant for two or three seasons is also a question mark with variables that include a recent and expensive trade for guard De’Aaron Fox and what the team intends to do with the No. 2 overall pick in this summer’s NBA draft.