The Miami Heat are throwing their hat into the ring. Despite president Pat Riley recently saying that re-signing Hassan Whiteside was the team's top offseason priority, it seems that the team actually has other plans for the offseason: making a run at bringing Kevin Durant to South Beach.

According to ESPN's Dan Le Batard:

“The plan is and always has been: Go after Durant and free everything up – so much so that you insulted your superstar this offseason by telling Dwyane Wade no on multiple years, even though that’s what he wanted…

“What I’m telling you, no matter how much you laugh at it, is that the Heat is getting in the room with Durant. Now, what happens from there, who knows? But you can sit here and laugh at it all you want, but the plan, the construct is – the priority, the No. 1 thing this offseason – is get in the room with Durant.”

kevin-durant-hassan-whitside
AP Photo/Joe Skipper

Would the Heat really spurn Wade, their loyal veteran who just had a monster playoffs for the team, again this offseason, as well as Whiteside, just for a shot at Durant? Le Batard sure thinks so:

“All I’m telling you is priority No. 1 is not get Dwyane locked up, Whiteside locked up. No. 1 on the list is can you get the superstar that is the big get in free agency while also taking care of your people around that?”

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Any team with the slightest chance of getting Durant will probably go after him in his upcoming free agency. For this to work in Miami, they would likely have to let Whiteside go completely and cut Wade's pay over $50 million, assuming Durant takes a max deal.

This assumes of course that Durant wants to join the Heat. He'll also be courting attractive offers from at least the Spurs, Celtics, and Warriors… and not to mention he might not want to leave the Thunder at all. Especially considering the playoff run OKC has put together this postseason, knocking off the Spurs in round two and giving Golden State a good fight through the first two games of the Western Conference Finals, maybe the team has done enough to keep him.

Good luck to all the teams in the KD sweepstakes.

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