The Miami Heat missing out on another available superstar. It's like clockwork.
After Kevin Durant was traded to the Houston Rockets in a blockbuster deal, ESPN's Shams Charania revealed that Pat Riley and the Heat front office had submitted multiple offers for the forward.
According to Shams, Miami had the framework of a deal that may have landed Durant in South Beach but they declined to move on it.
After seeing the assets involved in the trade it's befuddling why the Heat didn't pull the trigger on the trade.
Heat decline potential Kevin Durant trade
The trade involved a flurry of young assets and draft picks from Miami.
Heat receive:
- Kevin Durant
Suns receive:
- Jaime Jacquez Jr.
- Nikola Jovic
- Haywood Highsmith
- No. 20 overall pick 2025 draft
- "Other draft assets"
Shams reported other draft assets would be involved in the deal. After the Rockets gave up five second-round picks to acquire KD, it's safe to assume the Heat would relinquish something along those lines.
Jacquez Jr. and Jovic are solid, young players but it's an odd deal to decline. The Heat would retain core pieces like Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro to play alongside Durant. There were also reports that the Suns wanted 7-footer Kevin Ware in a deal, but even then the Heat would be acquiring a 25 point-per-game scorer.
Shams report just now in line with what we tweeted below a week ago. Shams said Heat would not give up Ware and "ultimately turned down the opportunity to place Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic, Haywood Highsmith, the No. 20 pick and other draft assets in a deal, sources said." https://t.co/0dUctHxfvb
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) June 22, 2025
It's oddly reminiscent of the Damian Lilliard sweepstakes when Miami was rumored to be the guard's preferred destination until he eventually went to Milwaukee.
If Riley felt that Jovic and Jacquez Jr. were too valuable to give up in a trade that shows he has great belief in them to develop into better players.
Will the Heat regret this move? Or will they be proven right in bowing out of the Durant sweepstakes?
Only time will tell.
MORE: Kevin Durant trade makes Rockets title contenders according to sportsbook odds shift