Who the Miami Heat Could’ve Had In Free Agency: Kevin Durant
Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant is continuing his longevity in his 16th season in the NBA.
Durant is averaging 30.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 5.3 assists. He is coming off a 39-point performance against the Washington Wizards.
ESPN analyst Richard Jefferson called Durant the most effortless scorer in the league.
“It’s gotta be Kevin Durant,” Jefferson said. “He’s shooting 55 percent from the field. That’s two percent greater than anybody else in the top 10 [scorers]. He is shooting less field goals than everybody else in the top 10. He just does it with an ease that we’ve never seen before, and will probably never see again.”
An excelling superstar is what Miami Heat fans hoped for in the offseason. Durant requested a trade amidst frustration with the organization, listing Miami as one of his preferred destinations. However, the Nets’ asking price was too high for what the Heat had in mind. As one of the biggest superstars in the league, Miami would have had to trade a haul for Durant. This standard was elevated even further when Rudy Gobert was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for five role players and five draft picks.
Durant said he wanted to play on a team with Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Kyle Lowry. To acquire a player like Durant, it would be unlikely all three would stay on the team. Miami would’ve had to give up so much, the team wouldn’t even be the same after the trade. But with the way the season is going so far, fans wouldn’t have minded changing the landscape of this team.
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Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.
