Windhorst: Kevin Durant's Likely Deadline Options are Heat Trade or Staying with Suns

Despite a flurry of reporting that teams around the NBA are checking in with the Phoenix Suns regarding a potential Kevin Durant trade, it appears his options have been whittled down to two possibilities, as ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported on Wednesday's NBA Today—staying with the Suns or being traded to the Miami Heat in exchange for Jimmy Butler.

"If I had to guess right now—admitting that things are changing—I would say that he either stays in Phoenix or he's on the Miami Heat by tomorrow afternoon," Windhorst noted.

That comes as multiple reports have suggested that Durant isn't interested in returning to the Golden State Warriors:

For the Heat, landing Durant for Butler would be a no-brainer. Not only is Durant the better overall player, but it would also end the Butler circus, which has resulted in the Heat being short-handed due to the disgruntled star being suspended indefinitely.

It makes far less sense for the Suns. Adding Butler but losing Durant doesn't make them better, and as Windhorst noted, Phoenix's initial interest in Butler was to pair him with Durant and Devin Booker, not to replace one of them.

The issue for the Suns is Bradley Beal's no-trade clause. Normally, Beal would be the player the Suns would be dealing at the deadline, but because he can nix any deal—and because teams around the NBA likely aren't clamoring to pay him over $50 million a season for declining production—the only real recourse the Suns have for shaking up a roster that has gone just 25-24 on the season is to deal either Durant or Booker.

Booker, of course, isn't going anywhere. He's just 28 years old, firmly in his prime and is the face of the franchise. So that leaves Durant as the most likely piece to move.

But trading him for Butler would be giving up a player averaging 26.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 39.8 percent from three, for a player averaging 17 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting 36.1 percent from three.

Yes, Butler has been trying to force his way out of Miami, so his numbers may not be truly reflective of his overall upside. And the 35-year-old Butler is one year younger than Durant. But consider that Butler has never once averaged close to the 27.2 points per game that Durant has averaged over the course of his entire career.

Butler is excellent in the playoffs, averaging 27.4 points per game in the 2021-22 postseason and 26.9 points per contest in the 2022-23 playoffs. But again, Durant is the better postseason performer, averaging 29.3 points per game—with two titles, to zero for Butler—in the playoffs.

Unless the Suns are just desperate to shake things up—or unless the Heat find a way to really sweeten the pot—it's just hard to imagine why Phoenix would swap Durant for Butler.