Heat refused to trade one player for Kevin Durant

The Miami Heat were among the teams interested in Kevin Durant at the time he was traded to the Houston Rockets. But there apparently was one player Miami did not want to part with in order to get the former NBA MVP.

The Heat on Friday traded Haywood Highsmith to the Brooklyn Nets in a move designed to decrease their tax bill. As part of the analysis surrounding the deal, The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson reported about how Durant was involved.

According to Jackson, the Heat offered the Phoenix Suns Andrew Wiggins, Terry Rozier, Highsmith, Jamie Jaquez and the No. 20 pick in June’s draft for Durant and Cody Martin. The Suns reportedly wanted all of those players, the No. 20 pick and Nikola Jovic in a trade for Durant.

The report makes it clear that the Heat would not include Jovic in a trade for KD.

Jovic was the No. 27 pick by the Heat in 2022. The 6-foot-10 forward averaged 10.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 three-pointers made per game last season. He has also played for Serbia’s national team.

The Heat reportedly had made Jovic available in a trade in early 2024, but they did not want to deal him in a Durant trade a few months ago. Durant was sent to Houston as part of a 7-team deal, which set an NBA record for the most teams involved in a trade. The Heat went 37-45 last season and got swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team made it a priority to get below the luxury tax amount, and have done so.