Power ranking the Kevin Durant NBA 2016 free agency suitors

If Durant is going to sign with any team in the Eastern Conference this summer, it makes the most sense for him to join the Miami Heat. In Miami, he would be able to play with a clutch scorer and future Hall of Famer in Dwyane Wade. Wade leaving Miami in free agency at this stage of his career seems almost unfathomable.

In Miami, Durant would get the same coach that helped James learn how to win a championship in Erik Spoelstra. Spoelstra’s ability to keep his star players happy is elite. He’s also adept at defensive strategy and player development. Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson look like real NBA players only after one year in Spoelstra’s system.

Besides being in the easier Eastern Conference, being in an organization run by iconic team president Pat Riley would let Durant know that he can get the star players he needs if the 2016-17 Heat fail to win it all in his first year with the team. Without Riley, there is no James, Wade, Chris Bosh Heat teams.

Of any team in the Durant sweepstakes that might not win it all in 2017, Miami has proven to win at a supremely high level: three NBA Championships and five trips to the NBA Finals in 11 seasons.

Though a bit of a stretch, the Heat could potentially usurp the Cavaliers as the best team in the East in 2016-17 with the addition of Durant. While James received infinite ridicule for taking his talents to South Beach, this is one of the few places that Durant won’t be chastised for leaving Oklahoma City for. Joining the Heat is potentially great in the short-term and probably outstanding in the long-term.

Next: 3. Golden State Warriors.