Miami as the perfect fit for Durant<\/a>, Haslem\u2019s comments were preceded by show host Mike Greenberg saying, \u201cI just hope that UD\u2019s smile alone is not considered tampering. That would be my only concern here. UD, I don\u2019t know exactly what you\u2019re allowed to say about this, but what are your thoughts on Kevin Durant?\u201d<\/p>\nAs week ago, Haslem said on ESPN, \u201cKevin Durant would fit in anywhere, but definitely I feel like he fits in Miami Heat culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
This time Haslem took a more expansive view of the ongoing process, with the Heat, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves among the teams believed to be the frontrunners in the Durant chase, if he is dealt.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe three teams that I\u2019m hearing, I\u2019m hearing Houston, I\u2019m hearing Minnesota and obviously we\u2019re hearing Miami,\u201d Haslem said. \u201cAnd I look at all three of those situations and I see a situation that can work for KD.\u201d<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
With the Rockets, Haslem cited coach Ime Udoka, who this week received a contract extension.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look at a team in Houston,\u201d Haslem said, \u201cwhere there\u2019s a young team, but they\u2019re top of the West last year; they had the fourth-ranked defense. He can come in, Ime Udoka is definitely the leader of that young squad. They\u2019re building the culture there, so he can come in, just fall in line, and just be who KD is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of the Timberwolves, Haslem spoke of Durant possibly offering needed support to emerging All-Star Anthony Edwards.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look at Minnesota,\u201d Haslem said, \u201cyou put him next to Ant Man and this is a team who I feel like last year or two years ago they went to the Western Conference finals, and then this particular season they didn\u2019t get it done, but it was obvious and more glaring this particular playoff that they needed another scorer next to Ant Man.\u201d<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
He then related the Heat position, citing the influence of coach Erik Spoelstra, among others.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then you look at the Miami Heat, you look at the growth of Bam Adebayo, you look at the growth of Tyler Herro, and you look La Spoelstra Nostra, who is, in my opinion, the best coach in the league right now, and he can come into a situation where there\u2019s a culture,\u201d Haslem said of Durant. \u201cThey\u2019re going to push him. But he can be comfortable, he can be a favorite player\u2019s favorite player, and just be Kevin Durant, give me that 50, 40 and that 90 from the free-throw line and just be a hell of a ball player.\u201d<\/p>\n
Related Articles<\/p>\n
Speaking ahead of Haslem, Morris did not have to be as diplomatic and was effusive as the Heat being best for Durant, with the Suns believed to be working with Durant toward a mutually agreeable landing spot. Durant also carries the hammer of a contract that expires after next season, potentially leaving an unwelcome destination after a single season.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to see him playing in South Beach,\u201d Morris said. \u201cI think it sets up perfectly to build a team with guys like Bam Adebayo, that does it all, the culture of winning in Miami. You have another elite scorer in Tyler Herro. But (Durant) could step right in and be the ultimate scorer that he has been.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it\u2019s not shots at other coaches, but the little bit of time that I played in Miami, that was the best brand of basketball that I\u2019ve been a part of. Spo does a great job of getting the best out of guys, and I think that\u2019s the perfect spot for him. The East is wide open and he can flourish there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Durant is under contract to the Suns at $54.7 million for next season, then eligible to hit free agency in the 2026 offseason. Turning 37 in September, Durant would be eligible in July to sign a two-year, $112 million extension with an acquiring team.<\/p>\n
The Heat have a variety of contracts and draft picks to put in play for Durant, including veteran players such as Andrew Wiggins, Duncan Robinson and Terry Rozier, as well as developing prospects such as Kel\u2019el Ware, Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez Jr.<\/p>\n
The timetable for a Durant trade seemingly could revolve around Wednesday\u2019s first round of the NBA draft, with the Heat holding the No. 20 selection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIAMI \u2014 A week ago, Udonis Haslem could not have been more emphatic about the Miami Heat being…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":113757,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3778],"tags":[500,375,1179,7,4958,144,194,1272,4959,981,938,7549,295,189,3881,152,6,472,1677,1176,492,4785],"class_list":{"0":"post-113756","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami-heat","8":"tag-andrew-wiggins","9":"tag-anthony-edwards","10":"tag-bam-adebayo","11":"tag-basketball","12":"tag-duncan-robinson","13":"tag-heat","14":"tag-houston-rockets","15":"tag-ime-udoka","16":"tag-jaime-jaquez-jr","17":"tag-kelel-ware","18":"tag-kevin-durant","19":"tag-markieff-morris","20":"tag-miami","21":"tag-miami-heat","22":"tag-miamiheat","23":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","24":"tag-nba","25":"tag-phoenix-suns","26":"tag-terry-rozier","27":"tag-the-heat","28":"tag-tyler-herro","29":"tag-udonis-haslem"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114719694814497104","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}