Kevin Durant trade to Heat was 'there to be done' but Miami pulled the plug, per report

The deal would've cut the Warriors out and sent Jimmy Butler to Phoenix

As the dust continues to settle on probably the wildest trade deadline in NBA history, details about how all these huge deals did, or did not, get done are rapidly emerging.  Durant would have been open to playing for the Heat, sources said, so Miami debated cutting the Warriors out [of a separate three-team deal that was also being discussed] and dealing Butler to Phoenix for Durant, sources said.

No, this isn't about how or why the Dallas Mavericks hand delivered Luka Doncic to the Lakers. You have heard enough about that, and you'll surely be hearing a lot more.  Riley, after all, had wanted Durant for years. In 2016, Riley landed one of the famous meetings in the Hamptons where Durant took pitches from various teams and the Warriors closed by getting Curry to sell Durant on a partnership. Riley had tried again in 2019 when Durant left Golden State for the Brooklyn Nets, but Riley pulled off a shrewd sign-and-trade for Butler that summer instead.

It was there to be done, Durant to Miami, and the teams traded proposals, sources said. But Phoenix, which paid for Durant in 2023 with four first-round picks and three pick swaps to Brooklyn, was seeking significant compensation for the player, who is now 36 and under contract for just one more season.