Brooklyn Nets Could Be Key as Heat’s Kevin Durant Trade Odds Surge Dramatically

According to Forbes' Evan Sidery, Kevin Durant's anticipated trade from the Phoenix Suns "appears imminent within the next 72 hours," but it may be to a dark horse candidate. While the San Antonio Spurs remain the favorites to acquire the lanky sharpshooter, an Eastern Conference squad has seen its odds skyrocket on DraftKings Sportsbook.

The Miami Heat have climbed from +1000 to +250, creating a scenario where Miami could be the team compensating the Brooklyn Nets for helping facilitate the deal. Earlier today, Billy Reinhardt explained why Brooklyn makes sense to be included in any Durant deal:

"There’s probably no NBA team with better intel for what’s going to happen acquisition-wise this offseason than the Brooklyn Nets," Reinhardt posted to X on Friday. "As the only team with cap space, be sure that the Nets are getting calls from every team, looking to loop them into multi-team trades. Brooklyn undoubtedly is privy to all the potential major action this summer and it should help clarify their plan."

The majority of mocks that have come out typically have San Antonio as Durant's landing spot, with players like Grayson Allen being sent back to the Nets, along with a first-rounder as a "thank you" for helping the deal go through.

Although, with Miami now involved, Duncan Robinson could replace Allen as the "bad contract" Brooklyn will take on. Last week, Sidery mentioned that Robinson could fall victim to a cap casualty, and trading for Durant gives the Heat the perfect excuse to move on.

"The Heat are looking to trade Duncan Robinson’s $19.8 million expiring contract," Sidery posted to X. "Miami or another team acquiring Robinson’s partially-guaranteed contract could waive him by July 8 to save $10 million."

Miami swooping in and stealing Durant, despite every report suggesting San Antonio were the clear front-runners, would be quite the shakeup. The impact on the NBA landscape would be monumental, although in Brooklyn's case, it doesn't really matter where Durant lands.

As long as the Nets are involved and gaining draft assets for conceding some of their salary cap room, their involvement will be viewed positively.

• Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. 
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