If the Golden State Warriors had their way in early February at the NBA's mid-season trade deadline, Andrew Wiggins would have been moved to re-acquire former 2x Finals MVP Kevin Durant.
Durant ultimately rejected that move, leaving the Warriors to trade Wiggins for Jimmy Butler in a deal that's paid enormous dividends in the months since. Yet there's still a pathway for Wiggins to be traded for Durant, just not in the way Golden State would have initially wanted.
The Miami Heat could pursue Kevin Durant this offseason
Durant didn't want to move teams mid-season, but there's now an incredibly high likelihood that he finds himself on his fifth team heading into his 18th year. There'll be no shortage of teams interested in Durant who, despite nearing 37-years-old, still put up 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists this season on an incredibly efficient 52.7% shooting from the floor and 43% from 3-point range.
After moving on from the Butler era in rather unceremonious fashion, the Heat could be one of those teams interested in Durant. That was the major takeaway from Pat Riley's end-of-season press conference, with the Miami President suggesting he would be open to pursuing an aging star while even bringing up the veteran Warrior trio of Butler, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green as an example of how it can be succesful.
Pat Riley says that “I still think an aging player can play” and that the Heat would be open to pursue one.
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) May 9, 2025
Wasn’t mentioned, but Kevin Durant’s name fits the bill. #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/Rc2Fi1hHmM
If the Heat were to have interest in Durant and put an offer together, you could expect Wiggins to be involved just as he would have been in the failed trade before the mid-season deadline. Now, whether Miami have the young and future assets to actually pull the deal off is another question altogether, with a strong chance they'd be outbid by a younger team like the Houston Rockets.
There's significant history between Durant and Wiggins, even if the pair have never played together nor been traded for one another. Beyond the discussions a few months ago, Wiggins' initial arrival at Golden State over five years ago stemmed from Durant's departure.
The Warriors received D'Angelo Russell back in the Durant sign-and-trade with the Brooklyn Nets, before he was moved just months into his tenure to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Wiggins and a first-round pick that resulted in Jonathan Kuminga.
Wiggins was solid upon his arrival in Miami, but ran into a disastrous first-round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers where he averaged just 11.5 points and 3.3 rebounds on 37.2% shooting in a 4-0 defeat.