To Windhorst’s point, Houston finished 52-30 and No. 2 in the Western Conference last season, while Miami went 37-45 in the East. Thus, from a purely short-term basketball perspective, the Rockets would seemingly give Durant a better opportunity to compete at the highest level over whatever remains of his prime NBA years.

Golden State Warriors impending restricted free-agent forward Jonathan Kuminga is reportedly on the Miami Heat's radar for a potential trade if they miss out on a deal for Phoenix Suns superstar forward Kevin Durant.