Kevin Durant Trade: Heat and Rockets Front Runners

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00:00We know KD is going to be traded to attempt to play catch-up here for everyone.

00:06KD has certain spots he's willing to go.

00:08Those spots are primarily the Heat, the Rockets, maybe the Spurs.

00:16That's what Shams let us know. Shams Trani vs. P.M.

00:20Minnesota wants KD, though.

00:22Well, KD doesn't want to go to Minnesota.

00:24Anthony Edwards is uninterested in trying to sway KD's opinion.

00:30It doesn't seem like that's really going to play out.

00:34The Toronto Raptors are interested in Kevin Durant.

00:37From what I gather, based on what we're being told, they're offering the best possible package.

00:43R.J. Barrett, Jakob Pertl, number nine.

00:46That seems pretty great if you're Phoenix, if you can bring that in.

00:50But I'm sure if KD's not going to go to Minnesota, he's not all that interested in going to Toronto.

00:55And there's the Spurs piece of it.

00:58They just don't seem interested anymore.

01:00San Antonio, young stars, obviously not only coveting the number two pick,

01:04but perhaps just coveting a not sped-up timeline.

01:09Maybe they just want to save every asset possible in case a Giannis comes available

01:14or something closer to that type of player.

01:17We're not hearing a lot about the Spurs.

01:19Not anymore.

01:21Correct.

01:21That leaves us with the Heat.

01:23And it leaves us with the Rockets.

01:25The two frontrunners for Kevin Durant right now, I would put the Raptors third, actually.

01:33Because if they're going to send KD somewhere he doesn't want to go,

01:36I think Toronto will win out based on what's being reportedly out there.

01:41It's a lot.

01:42It's a lot we're trying to juggle here.

01:45I'll go to you first, Tom.

01:46What do you make right now of the Kevin Durant race?

01:48It's a little bit of a mess, if we're being honest.

01:51A little bit of a mess.

01:52I would like to see it be finalized by the time the draft rolls around,

01:58and I think it will be.

01:59Agree.

01:59Regardless of if it's KD's preferred destination or if it's, hey,

02:06as the Suns' perspective, we've just got to take the best option available

02:09at a certain point.

02:10Because theoretically, let's just say the Spurs were really interested.

02:15If you're going to make the deal, you want that two-pick.

02:18Let's get into the draft.

02:20We'll take care of it ourselves.

02:21We'll move them out.

02:21You give us the pick, and then we can go from there.

02:24If we're getting close to the draft,

02:26that's where I think the Suns will just jump at the first and or best package

02:32they get sent, and it may end up being the Raptors,

02:34even though it's not his preferred destination.

02:36Listen, the ninth pick is here.

02:38It's Wednesday afternoon at 5 p.m.

02:40We're just taking this deal just because we can't materialize it with Miami.

02:44So I would say if I was Durant, obviously Miami looks to be the destination,

02:48regardless of, like, oh, does he want to go to a state that doesn't have

02:51income tax or whatever it might be.

02:52You want to go to a wide-open East.

02:54You want to go to a wide-open East with a chance to win one more championship.

02:58Going to the Spurs I don't think makes sense for him or the Spurs overall.

03:03Like you said, you want to be gathering assets and not accelerating the timeline

03:06kind of akin to what Thunder have done, where you have stars,

03:10you build around them, you collect assets, and then if you need to make a big splash,

03:13then that's where you go and do it.

03:14The Rockets, I think, is a reasonable answer, but, again,

03:18do the Rockets want to give up young assets to get an aging veteran for two years?

03:24Three years?

03:25Like, I know Durant has said he is, Coach, he said, like, he's committed to long-term

03:28or he's excited, whatever it might be, to extend long-term.

03:31It doesn't feel like he's going to be there long-term.

03:34Yeah, I think when you look at Kevin Durant and you look at a team like the Rockets,

03:38they're a team that they probably say that they're one team away from winning an NBA championship.

03:42Now, it's all about how, to me, how they structure it, right?

03:47You know, is it Jalen Green?

03:50But if you have Jalen Green, then what do you do with Jabari because you have KD with Jabari.

03:55I don't think they play together.

03:56I don't think KD can play a three even though he's got that sniper mentality.

04:01But then you don't want to go up Jabari because of Jabari's age.

04:04So, I think these teams are looking at Phoenix and the more the teams go out

04:10and the more that Kevin Durant says, I don't want to go to Minnesota.

04:13The Knicks say, we don't want you.

04:15Even though I think KD in a roundabout world wants the Knicks,

04:17but every Knicks fan doesn't want KD because he went to the Nets

04:20and that's a whole other soap opera for another day.

04:23I think if you are Houston and you are Miami, you just sit back and wait.

04:29Because at the end of the day, Kevin Durant's going to dictate this

04:32and you're just going to wait until, like Tom said, probably 5 p.m.

04:38and then you're going to put out your offer

04:39and then you're probably going to force Phoenix to take it

04:42because at the end of the day, Phoenix is going nowhere.

04:45They have to rebuild.

04:46They got to move KD.

04:47But the problem is, guys, with a one-year left and going into an expiring deal,

04:53you shouldn't be giving up the form for him.

04:55So, I think based on the reported offers, though,

04:59nobody is being forced to give up the farm in order to bring in Kevin Durant.

05:05I would say on the Houston side of it,

05:07all right, so this might sound crazy to people.

05:11If you just told me Kevin Durant in, Jalen Green, Jabari out this season,

05:15the Rockets might have won the title.

05:17Okay.

05:18Because I think they would have easily beaten Golden State.

05:21I think Minnesota was more vulnerable.

05:22At that point, you're in the conference finals.

05:24And I think, again, we'll talk.

05:26Jalen Green was absolutely abysmal.

05:28And Kevin Durant still is just sleepwalking to 27 on roughly 50-49.

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