It’s been three weeks since Kevin Durant requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets. The Miami Heat, one of Durant’s reported preferred teams, remain in hot pursuit of the superstar forward. There are also other teams in the running for Durant as well. So far, no team has come close to reaching a trade agreement with Brooklyn. Teams haven’t been putting their best packages forward at this point. Miami has been only willing to include anyone outside of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. While Adebayo could massively improve their offer, it doesn’t seem like Miami will involve him in trade talks.
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Who is the Source?
According to Ira Winderman of the South Florida SunSentinel, one member from the Miami Heat organization already has shot down that idea.
“A party familiar with the Heat’s approach told the Sun Sentinel that while there has been internal consideration of the team utilizing center Bam Adebayo as a trade component, at least one influential member of the organization has shot down the notion.”
That influential Heat member could be Pat Riley, Erik Spoelstra, Andy Elisburg, or even owner Micky Arison. Regardless, trading Adebayo for Durant would not be easy anyway. The NBA rules prevent two traded players with max rookie extensions from being on the same team. Since Ben Simmons was traded to the Nets earlier this year, the Nets cannot acquire Adebayo unless Simmons is either involved in the Durant deal to Miami or moved elsewhere. Even if the Nets wanted to include Simmons, it’s unknown how much value he has around the league. Simmons hasn’t played in any game since the 2021 NBA playoffs due to mental and back concerns. Is there a market for him now? probably not.
As for trading Adebayo for Durant, it’s not an easy decision. Yes, Durant is still a Top-3 talent in the league, despite being 34. And he’s most definitely better than any player on the Heat. Usually, the team that acquires the best player wins the trade. However, Durant isn’t getting any younger. The issue with the Heat is if it’s worth trading all their foundational pieces for Durant at this stage. If Adebayo is included in the deal, Tyler Herro will be as well. Butler and Durant would be a good duo but who will be their surrounding pieces? Is that enough to get past the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks? Those are two teams with big frontcourt lineups.
Would it Make Sense?
If Adebayo remained out of the deal this would be a no-brainer. With him, they are a much better team defensively. He’s arguably one of the best-skilled bigs that can guard any position. Adebayo covers so much ground defensively for Miami. He can cover the guards on the perimeter and quickly rotate to help in the paint. Even though he was inconsistent offensively in the playoffs, he did average 19.1 points and 10.4 rebounds per game during the regular season. Finding another player who can do what Adebayo does wouldn’t be an easy task. There are only a few in this league that can do what he does.
The best-case scenario would be to keep Adebayo while trading for Durant. Unfortunately, it’s hard seeing a pathway for this to happen without him. A package centered around Herro, some cap fillers, and three first-round picks is not enough. Especially if the trade is only between the two teams. The Miami Heat are hoping to find some more teams to join as facilitators in the Durant trade. These trade talks could linger into the regular season. It will be interesting to see how long Miami is willing to wait on Durant and if they can pull off this potential blockbuster trade.
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