Why Miami Heat Need To Land Kevin Durant

Heat Proposed Trade for Kevin Durant

Though the Heat had to part with many of their best trade assets to acquire Antetokounmpo, they still have enough left over that they can pick up Durant.

Durant makes $43.9 million this coming season, so the Heat have to match the salary to pick him up.

That means that veteran Andrew Wiggins will have to go back to the Rockets in the trade. He makes $30.2 million this coming season, so Miami will also need to include more salary to make the trade work.

Next, they would include 23-year-old power forward Nikola Jovic, who is scheduled to make $16 million this coming season. Jovic is a player who still has untapped potential, so he would be the centerpiece of this trade if the Rockets think that he can become a star.

Wiggins and Jovic come to $46.2 million combined. That means the Rockets can include Isaiah Crawford and his $2.4 million salary to get to $46.3 million, and the salaries are nearly a perfect match.

In addition to Wiggins and Jovic, the Heat can also offer the Rockets some draft picks as an added incentive, though they are limited as far as tradeable picks go due to how many they sent the Bucks.

Still, the chance to get a young player on a cost-controlled contract in Jovic for an older player who only has one guaranteed year left in Durant has to be something that Houston needs to seriously think about.

Plus, they’ll get a solid vet in Wiggins and some draft capital to help get the deal to the finish line.

Miami’s Lineup With KD

With Durant in Miami, this is what the Heat’s lineup would look like this coming season.

PG: Davion Mitchell
SG: Tim Hardaway Jr.
SF: Kevin Durant
PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo
C: Bam Adebayo

Bench: Bobby Portis Jr., Dru Smith, Simone Fontecchio, Pelle Larsson, Myron Gardner, Ryan Conwell, Isaiah Crawford

I also propose that the Heat sign veteran DeMar DeRozan in free agency to prop up their bench scoring. They can also look around for a veteran PG to back up Mitchell.

Overall, this Heat team looks much better than the one that Miami currently projects to open the season with, as the addition of Durant gives them another NBA superstar to provide support to Antetokounmpo and make them far harder to defend against.

At this very moment in time, the Heat’s lineup looks good enough to make the playoffs, but they are unlikely to win more than a round given how many strong teams are in the Eastern Conference right now.

But if they can go and get Durant (and DeRozan), it would push the Heat from pretenders into contenders, and that’s something that Riley and Co. simply cannot pass up on the opportunity to do as they look to chase another NBA Championship in South Beach.