Ranking Knicks, Heat and the Top 5 Landing Spots for a Kevin Durant Trade
For months, the Phoenix Suns and Kevin Durant have appeared headed to an inevitable divorce. The team has underperformed since acquiring Bradley Beal from the Washington Wizards, and KD (36) may have a new home in early July.
Several NBA teams have prioritized their fixation on Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and may hold back chasing Durant for even a long-shot chance at the younger (30) star.
Still, both are former NBA MVPs, and Durant averaged 26.6 points per game last year on 43 percent shooting from three-point range. He remains one of the league's best players.
As ESPN's Shams Charania wrote on Wednesday, those with interest "mainly feature the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks."
How do those teams rank as viable Durant destinations, and what honorable mentions might make a run?
The Fine Print
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Durant will earn $54.7 million for the 2025-26 season, but he's earning $51.2 million through the end of June.
Most teams must wait until they have greater flexibility in July when hard caps reset and the salary cap jumps from $140.6 million to a projected $154.6 million. However, a deal can be agreed to before the draft and executed on July 6 after the NBA's annual moratorium.
To bring back Durant in June, a franchise must send out at least $40.7 million, provided they finish the deal below the first apron ($178.1 million) and can field a full roster under the 2025-26 first apron ($195.9 million). That required number climbs to $43.6 million in outgoing salary in July.
Or, depending on the month, a team can avoid the first-apron restriction entirely by trading away an amount equal to or greater than Durant's $51.2-$54.7 million. Remember that a second-apron restriction ($188.9-$207.8 million) is triggered by aggregation, like sending two players making $27.5 million apiece to get just over Durant's $54.7 million.
Similarly, the Suns cannot trigger any aprons as their current projected payroll for 2025-26 (roughly $228 million). A Durant trade may reduce that number to give Phoenix apron flexibility, but that would require additional team(s) in the trade.
Finally, trading for Durant will presumably come with an extension agreement in the $122-$124 million range. The former is more likely, since it can be executed immediately; the extra $2 million would need to wait six months for extend-and-trade restrictions to lift.
Honorable Mentions: Hawks, Nuggets, Mavericks, etc.
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Several teams not listed by Charania could make a run at Durant. The Atlanta Hawks have players like Jalen Johnson, Terance Mann, Onyeka Okongwu and Zaccharie Risacher whose contracts could get the necessary salary (in various combinations).
The Denver Nuggets have minimal draft picks to offer, but Michael Porter Jr. would be Phoenix's primary piece in a multi-team deal.
While the Dallas Mavericks could find a way to make the math work, it would be extremely challenging to round out the team with Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving (even if he opts out of $43 million to re-sign near $35 million on a longer deal), and Durant. No, the Suns aren't getting Cooper Flagg (presumably the No. 1 overall pick).
A surprise team could make a run, perhaps the Los Angeles Clippers, but it's the size of KD's salary that is a challenge for most.
5. Minnesota Timberwolves
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Sample three-team trade:
Timberwolves get: Durant (from Suns)
Lakers get: Luka Garza (from Timberwolves)
Suns get: Julius Randle, Rob Dillingham, Terrence Shannon Jr., Mike Conley, Josh Minott (all from Timberwolves), No. 55 (from Los Angeles Lakers)
The Timberwolves have several decisions this summer with three potential key free agents.
Randle ($30.9 million) and Naz Reid ($15 million) may opt out of their final years, while Nickeil Alexander-Walker will be an unrestricted free agent.
The challenge is that only the Brooklyn Nets have significant spending power and may not target Minnesota's players. If not, the most it will be able to get elsewhere is the projected $14.1 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception, unless a team like the Detroit Pistons trades into cap room (possibly moving Isaiah Stewart II).
Assuming Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, and Jaden McDaniels aren't available, the Timberwolves would need Randle to opt in to make a trade viable. Others such as Dillingham, Conley, Shannon Jr. or Donte DiVincenzo would need to be included as outgoing salary. Without Randle, Minnesota would need to include one of Gobert or McDaniels.
The greater challenge is draft compensation. Outside of Nos. 17 and 31 in the draft, most of the Timberwolves' future picks are spoken for. On paper, a deal between the two seems built on the concept that Phoenix really wants Randle (and he opts in).
4. Miami Heat
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Sample three-team trade:
Heat get: Durant (from Suns)
Brooklyn Nets get: Kyle Anderson, Nikola Jović (both from Heat), No. 55 (from Suns)
Suns get: Terry Rozier, Duncan Robinson, Jaime Jaquez Jr. (all from Heat), No. 36 (from Nets)
The Heat have a non-lottery first (No. 20) and can offer two more (2030 and 2032). The draft compensation may not be overwhelming, but that depends on how much other teams will forgo for a 36-year-old star.
Miami can include veterans like Rozier, Robinson and Anderson to reach the necessary salary for Durant. However, Phoenix may need a third team to avoid apron restrictions. Andrew Wiggins is another possibility, along with younger players such as Jaquez, Nikola Jović and/or Haywood Highsmith.
Durant has a say in where he wants to play, and if that's with Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro for a coach like Erik Spoelstra, the Suns may find they're compelled to send Durant to Miami (depending on how hard he chooses to ward off other suitors).
3. New York Knicks
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Sample four-team deal:
Knicks receive: Durant (from Suns), Vince Williams Jr. (from Grizzlies)
Memphis Grizzlies receive: Mikal Bridges (from Knicks)
Brooklyn Nets receive: Washington Wizards protected 2026 first-round pick (from Knicks), Brandon Clarke, GG Jackson II (both from Grizzlies)
Suns receive: OG Anunoby (from Knicks), 207 protected first-round pick (from Grizzlies)
To make the money work in a deal, the Knicks would need a third team, including OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges. The machinations would be similar to how New York would acquire Antetokounmpo. Phoenix could take back one of Anunoby or Bridges, but not both.
Bridges was initially sent from Phoenix to the Brooklyn Nets in 2023, so it would be poetic to return, though the Suns may prefer Anunoby and the draft compensation Bridges might yield from a third party like the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Knicks used most of their draft capital to build the current squad with Karl-Anthony Towns and Bridges, but then Phoenix may prefer win-ready veterans instead of picks.
2. San Antonio Spurs
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Sample trade:
Spurs get: Durant
Suns get: Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, No. 14 pick
The Spurs sent some draft compensation to acquire De'Aaron Fox before the trade deadline, but they still have plenty to offer Houston, including Nos. 2 and 14 in the draft.
Would they go that far for Durant given Victor Wembanyama (21) and current NBA Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle (20) are so young?
Castle may not be available, even for Antetokounmpo. Still, there's a world where San Antonio believes Durant has three still-elite years in him that could power the team to postseason success, which may mean giving up the lottery picks.
The Spurs also have the Atlanta Hawks' first in 2027 and enough draft compensation to get something done without Castle.
The more challenging aspect might be finding the necessary salary to acquire Durant, which presumably requires a combination of Vassell, Johnson and possibly Harrison Barnes.
The Spurs have more to offer regarding immediate draft compensation than the Houston Rockets. The rest is more subjective based on player preference.
1. Houston Rockets
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Sample three-team trade:
Rockets get: Durant (from Suns)
Nets get: Cam Whitmore (from Rockets), Jock Landale, No. 29 (from Suns)
Suns get: Jalen Green, Tari Eason, Aaron Holiday (all from Rockets), Nos. 26 and 27 (from Nets)
The Houston Rockets are well-positioned to go star hunting this offseason. Will they go all-in on Durant or save their available war chest for Antetokounmpo?
The path to Durant could take many forms, but it most likely needs to be in July since Houston is close to its first-apron hard cap.
While the team could opt Fred VanVleet into his expiring $44.9 million for 2025-26 and trade him with Dillon Brooks, the sense among many competing executives (willing to share their opinions on the Rockets) is that the franchise wants to keep as much of its experienced core together as possible for a substantial playoff run.
Houston is likelier to send VanVleet into free agency but re-sign him on a more economical multi-year deal. Instead, the expectation is that Green will be made available, along with players on flexible contracts ( Landale,Holiday, etc.) and inevitably some of the younger talents (Reed Sheppard, Whitmore, etc.). The Rockets also have the No. 10 pick to offer, along with several future picks (firsts and seconds).
Sheppard might be necessary for Antetokounmpo, but it's unclear how far Houston will go for Durant. Regardless, Alperen Şengün and Amen Thompson are off-limits.
The Rockets don't appear eager to part with Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason, though their extension demands this summer may dictate how vital they are to the team's future.
Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on X @EricPincus and Bluesky.
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