NBA rumors: Heat’s trade chip not moving needle for Kevin Durant, Donovan Mitchell

NBA rumors have linked the Miami Heat to Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell but teams don’t sound enthusiastic about trades involving Tyler Herro.

This NBA offseason remains all about trade speculation surrounding Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell. And those two names aren’t mentioned often without the Miami Heat being brought up as a potential destination.

The Heat have controlled the Southeast Division for most of the decade and have made it to two Eastern Conference Finals in the last three years. They just haven’t broken through since LeBron James led them to the championship in 2013.

There’s a sense that the squad as currently compiled isn’t capable of getting over the hump. They need to make a splash move to get that boost.

So of course Durant and Mitchell being available is something Miami has to explore.

NBA rumors: Tyler Herro’s reputation in way of Durant, Mitchell trade?

However, any trade deal the Heat could put together for those two is apparently complicated by the perception of Miami’s best bargaining chip: Tyler Herro.

According to Zach Lowe of ESPN, Herro splits opinions in NBA circles and that’s why he’s an unfortunate figure to build a trade around. His value as a trade centerpiece is heavily debated and it doesn’t sound like the Nets and Jazz have the highest opinion of him.

“The Heat so far have not gotten much traction on either front [Durant and Mitchell], sources say, but they are still trying and can never be counted out,” Lowe wrote. “If Miami pulls off a superstar trade, it’s going to be in part because the team on the other end is higher on Herro than consensus.”

Miami isn’t going to be able to throw a bunch of first-round draft picks at anyone. That means giving up someone like Bam Adebayo would have to be part of the deal. The price might be too high to convince the Heat it’s worth it to strip their team for an aging Durant or sell the farm to all-in on Mitchell.