Kevin Durant is reportedly going to get traded soon. And it could technically be to the New York Knicks. If he ends up elsewhere, though, they and their fans should be hoping with all of their might that he doesn’t end up with the…Miami Heat.
Yes, yes, yes, the Heat are no longer the Huh-Eat. They just went 37-45, made the playoffs by default, got trucked by the Cleveland Cavaliers once there, and no longer have a viable primary floor general following the Jimmy Butler trade. They are, on paper, a complete and total non-threat to these Knicks, who despite all of their faults and foibles, are working off an Eastern Conference Finals appearance.
Still, this to some extent changes if KD lands in Miami. Though he turns 37 in September, the dude continues to ball. Since joining the Phoenix Suns, he’s averaging about 27 points and five assists while canning over 58 percent of his twos and nearly 42 percent of his threes. Nobody else in the entire league has come close to hitting those benchmarks during this three-season stretch.
More than that, this isn’t necessarily about the Heat specifically. It’s about minimizing the number of threats the Knicks face in their quest to emerge from the East next year.
No other Eastern Conference team is in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes
To be sure, if you’re a Knicks fan, there are worse destinations for KD than the Heat. The thing is, no other team in the Eastern Conference appears to crack the final list. According to the most recent dispatch from NBA insider Jake Fischer over at The Stein Line, trade talks are ramping up, and the Heat, Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, and San Antonio Spurs are the primary suitors at the forefront, with New York itself potentially looming.
Seeing Durant join the Spurs or Rockets isn’t ideal from an outsider’s perspective. It immediately creates a new championship threat with which the Knicks and everyone else must contend. But that’s a June 2026 problem for New York.
Crossing your fingers for KD to stay out of the East entirely is the more urgent matter. So while dark-horse candidates like the Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons are bandied about for kicks, the Heat are the only other conference foe beyond the Knicks with more concrete interest in Durant.
The East remains wide open, which is why the Knicks don’t want KD in Miami
The Knicks and their fans could simply write off the Heat even if they bag Durant. That’s their prerogative. And it is not totally indefensible. Miami would still have holes in its roster, particularly at point guard, with zero financial flexibility and even fewer assets to address it.
But Eastern Conference threats have to come from somewhere. And because the field is so wide open, they could technically come from anywhere.
Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury only adds to the drama. The Boston Celtics are likely headed towards a gap year (or two), which opens the door for more risers. The Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers aren’t going anywhere. Damian Lillard’s Achilles injury weakens the Milwaukee Bucks, but they’ll remain an existential threat so long as they have Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Detroit Pistons are on the come-up—and just gave the Knicks all they could handle in the first round. Better health will render the Orlando Magic a serious force. The Philadelphia 76ers can still pop if Joel Embiid has anything left in his knee(s). There’s a chance the Toronto Raptors take a leap if they, too, remain relatively healthy—or pull off a trade.
Nobody, as you can see, is prepared to run away with the East. The Knicks, in all likelihood, will have their hands full as things stand. That job gets harder if KD is in Miami. So go ahead and put on a Rockets t-shirt, or a Spurs cap, or some Wolves-branded joggers. For the time being, you’re not just a Knicks fan. You’re a fan of every team in the West with a remote chance of acquiring KD.