Could Knicks Land Kevin Durant?
The New York Knicks have long been rumored to be looking for a star, and this offseason may finally be the time to pull the trigger regardless of how they perform in the rest of the playoffs.
Bleacher Report suggests that they could be in on the Kevin Durant sweepstakes if the Phoenix Suns were to make him available.
“Having a scorer of his caliber alongside ascending star Jalen Brunson might make this attack unstoppable,” Bleacher Report writes. “It would take a fortune to get Durant—maybe three first-round picks, plus Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson—but he’d be worth it if he can stay healthy.”
The price to acquire Durant would be massive, but the Knicks have the draft capital to do so. Any big trade would almost certainly require the Knicks to relinquish Randle, the biggest piece they should be willing to part ways with. Robinson’s repeated ankle injuries make his future murky, and if the Knicks can also find a way to pay Isaiah Hartenstein, it would make his role obsolete.
The Suns have to decide if trading Durant is a direction they want to go in. After pushing all their chips in to acquire Durant, they failed to win a single playoff game this season, putting serious doubt on their future. That being said, if they are given a strong enough package for his services, Phoenix should consider pushing the reset button by sending Durant back to the Big Apple.