The Miami Heat are on the short list of preferred trade destinations for Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant, alongside the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets.
The issue is Durant's contract does not contain a no-trade clause, so Phoenix's front office can deal Durant to whichever organization puts up the strongest return package. However, the Suns don't hold full leverage of the situation, as the 15-time All-Star is entering the final season of his contract. No team will trade for Durant unless they're certain he'll sign a long-term extension.
The Heat, Spurs, and Rockets seem hesitant to include substantial assets, but the Minnesota Timberwolves appear ready to cut ties with whatever is neccesary to acquire Durant. NBA insider Sam Amick of The Athletic revealed the Suns are attempting to persuade the two-time NBA champion to add the Timberwolves to his list of landing spots, potentially shutting the Heat out of the sweepstakes.
“Phase two of these talks to me is the Suns clearly like what they could possibly get out of Minnesota, but the Wolves are not going to play that game at all unless they're confident that Kevin wants to come," Amick said on FanDuel's Run It Back.
"You can tell Phoenix is almost trying to nudge him in that direction and compel him to add a fourth team to his list. That, to me, is the interesting dynamic," Amick continued. "Does he change his stance on Minnesota? If not, when do they come off of that and look harder at Miami or one of these other situations?"
With this information in mind, the Heat fanbase needs to hope Durant truly dislikes the city of Minnesota because the opportunity to play with Anthony Edwards and company is certainly not keeping the Timberwolves off the list.