Kevin Durant Trade Rumors: Suns Star Was 'Open' to Heat Move After Rejecting Warriors

While Kevin Durant reportedly wasn't interested in a return to the Golden State Warriors, a move to Miami wasn't off the table.

Brian Windhorst and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN reported that while Durant told the Phoenix Suns he "had no desire" to return to Golden State, he was "open" to being traded to the Heat and that Miami considered pivoting to an entirely different move before Thursday's trade deadline.

"Durant, however, would have been open to playing for the Heat, sources said, so Miami debated cutting the Warriors out completely and dealing Butler to Phoenix for Durant, sources said," Windhorst and Shelburne wrote.

A Warriors source told Windhorst and Shelburne that Durant likely didn't want to return due to "the same reasons he left" and that Golden State would have "been a f--ing circus."

Durant is under contract with the Suns through the 2025-26 season. Windhorst previously reported that there was a "level of concern" about Durant's future and that caused some thoughts of making a deal at the deadline.

He is averaging 26.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 39 games for the Suns, which sit ninth in the Western Conference at 25-25. Durant will remain the centerpiece of the team's playoff hopes but a trade would have represented at least a partial reset for the franchise by bringing a player like Butler in.

Instead, Butler will attempt to help Stephen Curry and company grab a playoff birth, while Durant and the Suns will hope to keep their pace above Golden State in the West standings. Miami, meanwhile, will look to Andrew Wiggins and Kyle Anderson fill the hole left by Butler.