New Blockbuster Trade Proposal Sends Kevin Durant to the Heat, Hawks Land Versatile Defender

By now, it is incredibly obvious that Kevin Durant is going to be traded.

It isn't because Durant himself has declined as a scorer. He averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists on 52.7/43/83.9% shooting splits and a TS% of 64.2%. However, the Suns are stuck in the second apron and will face harsh penalties if they can't move out of it during this offseason. Durant's has a $54.7 million dollar salary for next season before his deal expires. At 36 years old who turns 37 before the 2025-26 season, he is going to want an extension and the Suns missed the playoffs entirely. They aren't a winning situation right now and they don't have any of their own first-round picks until 2032. Phoenix already tried to trade him ahead of the deadline in February and they have more flexibility to get a deal done this offseason.

If Durant does get dealt, the Miami Heat have been linked to him as a possible destination. ESPN's Shams Charania had this to say about their interest:

"Back at the NBA trade deadline in February, Minnesota, Miami, New York, San Antonio and Houston were among the teams, I'm told, there was mutual interest between Durant and those teams. I expect those teams and potentially other to be back in the fray this summer."

NBA insider Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints corroborated those reports:

"The Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, and Atlanta Hawks all held discussions with the Suns at the trade deadline, sources said. Both Booker and Durant came up in these trade talks, some being more angled towards the future than at the deadline itself.

Miami is currently down 3-0 to the Cleveland Cavaliers and they got blown off the court in Game 3, 124-87. They lack both the high-end talent and depth to be competitive in playoff series. Acquiring Durant would hurt their depth, but it would improve their ceiling. In a weak Eastern Conference, that could be enough for a Eastern Conference Finals appearance if everything aligns for them.

Given that the Suns are a second apron team and Miami still wants to remain competitive while staying under the second apron, a third team would be very useful in order to take on additional salary. The Hawks make sense as a team that can do this. Atlanta currently has $40.9 million dollars in salary cap space under the luxury tax, which gives them some flexibility. While they may not want to push in their chips for Durant, they can still use this situation to their advantage and build up their rotation.

If the Heat made a move for Durant, what would the trade look like? Here's a possible framework that includes the Hawks as a third team.

It should be noted that this is just a speculative and fun exercise to see what kind of moves can be made, not what I think the Hawks should do or will do. That is all.

Atlanta Hawks get: Royce O'Neale, 2026 2nd round pick (via PHX, from DEN or GSW), 2027 2nd round pick (via MIA)

Miami Heat get: Kevin Durant, Vasilije Micic

Phoenix Suns get: Andrew Wiggins, Terry Rozier, Jaime Jacquez Jr, 2029 1st round pick swap (from MIA, PHX has right to swap), 2030 1st round pick (top-5 protected), 2029 2nd round pick (via ATL, from CLE)

Why Atlanta Might Do This Trade: Atlanta should be interested in acquiring anyone who can help their defense while being a contributor on offense. O'Neale checks both of those boxes. He can play both the SF and PF spots while matching up with the talented wings who occupy those positions. He had a defensive box plus-minus (DBPM) of -0.1, but he recorded a 1.4 DBPM the season prior, which is a good number. In 2024-25, he had a solid DRB% of 17.5% and a STL% of 1.8%. However, he is also an excellent shooter. Per Cleaning the Glass, O'Neale finished in the 88th percentile as a three-point shooter and shot 40.9% from deep on 5.9 attempts per game. He's a streaky shooter, but Atlanta needs to supplement their shooting after finishing 18th in 3P%. It doesn't hurt that he also has familiarity with Quin Snyder and he's under contract for an average salary of $10.5 million over the next three seasons.

Why Atlanta Might Not Do This Trade: O'Neale is about to turn 32 and 3&D wings have a very limited shelf life. He's already shown signs of decline with Phoenix this season and there's a risk of him falling off a cliff on defense, which would be a problem considering his long-term salary.

Why Miami Would Do This Trade: The Heat finished 24th in points per game and even with all the Suns' dysfunction, they still finished 18th in the same category. When paired with defenders like Ke'el Ware and Bam Adebayo, Durant can focus on scoring without overtaxing himself on defense. Tyler Herro also takes some defensive attention away from Durant, making his first All-Star team after an excellent season. Miami gets much bigger in the frontcourt with this move and has the offensive firepower to compete with the best teams in the East. They also wouldn't be losing much in their rotation - Rozier fell out of favor with the team and Jaquez declined after a strong rookie season. Wiggins had good moments with Miami, but Durant is a clear upgrade. Also, they would still be below the luxury tax with this move.

Why Miami Would Not Do This Trade: They don't have a ton of future picks and they'd almost certainly have to sign Durant to a new deal that pays him $50+ million. That severely restricts their flexibility and they may want to keep their picks ready for a younger option who can keep their contention window open for a greater length of time. If Giannis becomes avaliable and names Miami as his destination of choice, they wouldn't be able to accomodate that deal.

Why Phoenix Would Do This Trade: They immediately drop down to the 1st apron and cut $14.2 million off their books. Wiggins isn't the scorer that Durant is, but he brings more on defense and he's only 30 years old. The Suns desparately need someone athletic who can help them on defense, considering they were 22nd in opponent points allowed last season. At his best, Rozier can bring offense off the bench and help mitigate some of the scoring lost by Durant's departure. When he was with the Hornets, he was making 39.3% of his pull-up 3s, a career-high 50% of his midrange shots, including 51% on long 2s. Theoretically, he has the tools to be a good defender with a 6'8 wingspan despite his 6'1 frame. Furthermore, his deal expires after this season, so the Suns can get back into salary normalcy by next offseason. They also get a first-round pick in 2030 and a swap that will almost certainly be an improvement on their 2029 first-round pick from Utah that is the worst of Utah, Cleveland and Minnesota's draft position. That's all before getting to Jaime Jaquez, who was an impact role player for Miami in his rookie season before going through a sophomore slump.

Why Phoenix Would Not Do This Trade: This return is fairly modest considering how incredible of a scorer Durant is. Only getting one true first-round pick is disappointing and they're also sending out a solid rotation player in O'Neale. It's very likely that they will be a worse team in 2025-26, but they need to get out of the second apron in order to preserve what little roster flexibility they still have.

Additional Links

2024-2025 Atlanta Hawks Season Grades: Clint Capela

NBA Trade Rumors: Atlanta Reportedly Showed Interest In Possible Move For Kevin Durant Or Devin Booker

2024-2025 Atlanta Hawks Season Grades: Dyson Daniels