Heat have prioritized pursuing Kevin Durant over Donovan Mitchell

And while Poole has been rumored as a potential piece in a theoretical Warriors trade package to land Durant, there has been little traction between Golden State and Brooklyn on such a blockbuster transaction, sources said. Despite the apparent openness—both from Warriors veterans and Durant himself—regarding a superstar reunion in the Bay, Golden State has not been categorized as a team that’s made serious overtures to pry Durant from Barclays Center. -via Bleacher Report / July 19, 2022

Kevin Durant has publicly supported friend and teammate Kyrie Irving then requested a trade from the Nets – reportedly because he disliked how they treated Irving. But what if Durant had the complete opposite reason for requesting a trade? Dave McMenamin of ESPN: “There’s a school of thought, speaking to people around the league, that they think that the Durant trade request wasn’t actually about him getting out of Brooklyn. It was about getting Kyrie out of Brooklyn.” -via NBC Sports / July 19, 2022

Brooklyn Nets stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving “know” a trade is unlikely and have accepted the reality that they may not be dealt anytime soon. “They know behind the scenes that it’s difficult, that it’s unlikely to happen,” a league source said, adding that “the Nets also knew that they’re going to make it so hard in the sense of the demands they’re looking for in return, no one’s going to meet that. -via Newark Star-Ledger / July 19, 2022

If Poole regresses—or simply entrenches himself as a strong starter-level player rather than a budding All-Star—then Golden State might be able to find an agreement closer to Anfernee Simons’ four-year, $100 million deal with Portland this summer. ‘”What’s the upside in locking him in now?'” one team cap strategist told B/R. ‘”He’s not Luka Doncic or Donovan Mitchell, who’ve proven they can carry a team. He’s close. If he does it again, you pay him. But prior to this year he was a borderline rotation player.'” -via Bleacher Report / July 19, 2022

“The Knicks and the Jazz will reengage here at some point… The Jazz are not gonna necessarily move quickly… New York is motivated to get Donovan Mitchell but I think they’re also motivated to not just give up everything to get him.” -via Twitter @ClutchPointsApp / July 19, 2022

The perpetually title-or-bust Heat, not surprisingly, are all-in on scouring the league to try to manufacture extra first-round picks to boost their chances of completing a trade for Kevin Durant or Utah’s Donovan Mitchell. But more teams than not are asking themselves this question: If we trade for Durant, how long before he wants to go somewhere else? -via marcstein.substack.com / July 18, 2022