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NBA rumors suggest the Miami Heat never aggressively pursued Kevin Durant.
According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, the Heat knew they would have to include multiple players in the deal, which dissuaded them from making a serious approach towards securing the 12x NBA All-Star.
Here's what Charania said regarding the same (H/T Heat Nation on Twitter):
“They never really aggressively pursued a deal because, I think, at the end of the day, they knew they would have had to gut multiple players.”
The Heat would've had to part ways with Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry and Tyler Herro to get Durant. That would've massively impacted their squad depth for the next season, especially with Jimmy Butler struggling with injury last season.
If the Heat had let go Adebayo, acquiring Durant wouldn't have made sense. The Heat finished as the top seed in the East last season, and barring PJ Tucker's departure, their core is pretty much the same.
However, with Durant agreeing to stay with the Brooklyn Nets, Miami have to turn their attention to more pressing needs. The Heat need a replacement for Tucker at the four. So far, they have been linked with the likes of Gordon Hayward, John Collins and Blake Griffin, but none of the possible moves have gained much traction.
NBA Rumors: Miami Heat have been disappointing this offseason
The Miami Heat had a solid 2021 NBA offseason. They signed the likes of Kyle Lowry and PJ Tucker to bolster their championship chances. The new players perfectly fit in at Miami, and they were just one shot away from making the NBA Finals.
A year later, the Heat have had an underwhelming offseason. They saw Tucker join a rival team - the Philadelphia 76ers - but are yet to replace him despite being linked with several big names.
The Heat's conference rivals have all improved significantly, which could impact Miami's chances of making a deep playoff run next season.
Miami needs to reinforce their frontcourt, especially at the power forward position. So revisiting trade discussions for Gordon Hayward and John Collins should be atop their to-do list this offseason.
They also need to add a player of Blake Griffin's caliber in free agency, who could give them an instant boost off the bench. It will be interesting to see what their approach will be.
