Report: Cavs among teams with ‘varying degrees of interest’ in potential Kevin Durant trade in offseason

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the middle of a tough playoff series with the Toronto Raptors, but a recent report revealed that they could look to acquire a veteran star in the offseason.

According to the Ringer’s Michael Pina, Cleveland is one of several teams with “varying degrees of interest” in Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant if he ends up getting traded in the offseason. Houston is currently trailing the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs, and it could look to shake up the roster if it ends up getting eliminated.

The Cavs were one of several teams that Pina mentioned, including the Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors, Atlanta Hawks, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards, Golden State Warriors, Indiana Pacers, Utah Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers.

“In all three of his latest stops—Brooklyn, Phoenix, and now Houston—Durant has ultimately symbolized a lesson each team has had to learn from and move past to reach the next step of its life cycle,” Pina wrote. “He is a blessing by way of a curse, and as his Hall of Fame career nears its end, you could drive an 18-wheeler through the space between Durant’s talent and how said talent positively affects his surroundings. The Rockets thought that KD was their missing piece, and instead, there’s a chance they’ll turn him into a stepping stone this summer. It turns out that your best player shouldn’t also be a mercenary. But despite that, the Heat, Timberwolves, Blazers, Mavericks, Pistons, Knicks, Raptors, Hawks, Magic, Lakers, Nuggets, Hornets, Bulls, Wizards, Warriors, Pacers, Jazz, Sixers, Celtics, Cavaliers, Bucks, and Clippers would all have varying degrees of interest—pending how the rest of these playoffs go.”

Cleveland already made a major trade during the 2025-26 season, sending guard Darius Garland to the Clippers in exchange for former league MVP James Harden. The move helped the Cavs secure the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, but Cleveland is tied at two games apiece with the Raptors ahead of Game 5 later on this week.

If the Cavs flame out in the playoffs, it’s possible they’ll look to add another star to the roster in the offseason. Durant would make a lot of sense for Cleveland given his size and scoring ability, but the Cavs already made a trade for an older player in Harden.

So, Cleveland has already sped up the timeline around Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley after it fell short of the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2024-25 season. Since Mitchell was acquired by the Cavs, the team has failed to make it out of the second round in any playoff run.

Durant has been hurt in the playoffs, appearing in just one game, but he did appear in 78 games during the 2025-26 regular season. The two-time NBA Finals MVP averaged 26.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game while shooting 52.0 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from 3.

The star forward is under contract for the 2026-27 season and has a player option in the 2027-28 season. So, the Cavs could end up having him for multiple years if they made a trade in the offseason.

Cleveland’s current focus is on the playoffs and the Raptors, but the front office could look to acquire a star if a player of Durant’s caliber is available in the offseason.