Kevin Durant has an important decision to make over his future this coming offseason.
At the trade deadline Kevin Durant had an opportunity to leave the Phoenix Suns. The Golden State Warriors even believed they had agreed a deal.
Durant chose to stick around, but Brian Windhorst claims there is a 98 percent chance he leaves Phoenix this offseason.
Among the teams being touted to trade for him are the New York Knicks, a team he famously declined to join before.
Kevin Durant snubbed the Knicks for the Nets
Even before sustaining an Achilles’ injury in 2019, Kevin Durant was angling towards leaving the Warriors.
He eventually did, and despite the injury concerns, there was a scramble for his services.
The Knicks were desperate to acquire Durant and add a major star to their roster who they could build around.
Instead he ended up with the Brooklyn Nets as part of a big three along with James Harden and Kyrie Irving, who looked unstoppable when they were on the court together. However, injuries denied the trio the chance to reach their potential together.
As much as Durant was attracted to the Nets’ project, he was also turned off by the state of the Knicks at the time.
He was quoted via SI: “The brand was cool, but at the time, you know, I’m not looking at the cool brand outside of the game.
“I was looking at the team, and the [Knicks] was not cool to play for. The team was not cool to watch. It wasn’t a good team to watch.”
Kevin Durant has admitted the Knicks have changed
A lot has changed since. The New York Knicks have been to the playoffs in four of the last five years. And this season they reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years.
Their ambition couldn’t be higher. They fired head coach Tom Thibodeau despite all this, showing a desire to keep improving. Adding Durant could be part of this.
Speaking in 2024, Durant was quoted by the New York Post: “The Knicks weren’t cool, but they are a cool brand. They’re popping right now. They’re playing well. The last few years, they were playing well.”
This shows Durant has been paying close attention to the Knicks’ improvement on the court, showing that he believes they may have a team to match their reputation.
The past 12 months have only furthered New York’s upward trajectory, and with Durant now expected to make one more, and possibly last, decision to switch teams, the Knicks could come under serious consideration this time – unlike 2019.
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