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The Miami Heat and Kevin Durant have been heavily linked recently. The Brooklyn Nets star has declared them as one of his preferred destinations, after all. Pat Riley has also shown an interest in trading for the star. One of the names floating around as part of a potential KD deal, however, is All-Star center Bam Adebayo.
Based on the Nets' reported demands, the Heat would likely need to give up Bam Adebayo in any Durant deal they will pull off, though Ben Simmons would have to be traded first for that to work. When asked about how he feels about these rumors, the center simply replied that this is the nature of their job as a professional athlete.
“I can’t control that,” Adebayo said, via Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. “It is what it is, control what you can control. Obviously it's an opportunity for something, but in my opinion, control what you can control.”
Durant has expressed his desire to play with Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, and Kyle Lowry in Miami. However, Adebayo is also the team's most intriguing trade asset. Unless the Nets are backed into a corner (which is highly unlikely), they will not take any package from the Heat that doesn't have Adebayo and/or Tyler Herro. That's the reason why Adebayo's name has been floating in the trade rumor sphere.
Riley and the Heat are in an interesting situation right now. Are they going to trade their homegrown stars to acquire an aging star? They have shown that they can make it deep into the playoffs with a core of Butler, Adebayo, and Herro, though. Trading for Durant is not a necessity for their success, but a luxury.
