Heat Reportedly Wouldn't Include Ware, Jaquez Jr., More Players in Kevin Durant Trade

Before the Houston Rockets acquired Kevin Durant on Sunday for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in Wednesday's NBA draft and five second-rounders, per ESPN's Shams Charania, the team also "engaged in serious talks" with the Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Heat appeared to be the runners-up in those talks but simply didn't put together a package that Phoenix desired.

As Charania reported, "The Suns' conversations focused on the Rockets and Heat in recent days, but both teams showed an unwillingness to part with young cornerstones such as Jabari Smith Jr. and Reed Sheppard (Houston) and Kel'el Ware (Miami) in a Durant deal, sources said. The Heat made multiple offers for Durant but ultimately turned down the opportunity to place Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jović, Haywood Highsmith, the No. 20 pick and other draft assets in a deal, sources said."

The Suns also discussed potential deals with "wild-card suitors" in the Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers, LA Clippers and Denver Nuggets.

So, if the Heat weren't willing to part ways with intriguing young players or first-round draft assets... what exactly were they willing to trade?

Looking at Miami's cap sheet for the 2025-26 season, the Heat could have offered a deal centered around some combination of Andrew Wiggins, Terry Rozier, Duncan Robinson and Kyle Anderson. It's easy enough to see why Phoenix wouldn't have been moved by any of those permutations.

One would think the Heat would have parted ways with at least one of Jaquez, Jović or Highsmith in a deal—perhaps even two of them—but giving up all three was apparently off the board, as was Ware. So the Suns went with the better offer.

Let's quickly take a look at the numbers put up by the young players that Miami didn't, or wouldn't, part with in Durant talks.

The 22-year-old Jović averaged 10.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game last year. Ware, 21, put up 9.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest. The 24-year-old Jaquez Jr. posted 8.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.6 points per game. And Highsmith, 28, averaged 6.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest.

They combined to average 35.1 points per game, or about 8.5 more points than Durant averaged by himself.

Now, if the Heat believe that Ware, Jović and Jaquez Jr. have serious upside, it's more justifiable to not give up all three of them in talks. But a trio of Durant, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro would have given Miami a legitimate shot in the Eastern Conference next season, which might be worth gambling on.

If either Ware or Jović becomes a star in the future, Miami's patience will look better in hindsight. For now, however, it's fair for Heat fans to question if the team missed out on a major opportunity.