Getty The Knicks are linked to a star.
The New York Knicks find themselves at 5-6 on the young season, and that means it’s time to start up the rumor mill and find ways for the team to make a splash by landing the next superstar that becomes available.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania revealed that execs told him the Knicks are “kind of hoarding those first-round picks just waiting for that next megastar to become available.”
There are a lot of teams struggling around the league, and that could lead to some bigger names becoming available sooner rather than later. A name that has already been thrown out there is Anthony Davis, the star forward/center on the struggling Los Angeles Lakers. Bringing him to New York would create all sorts of excitement, but there’s currently no movement there as of yet.
Another name that could become available is Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant. Durant requested a trade over the summer, but ultimately returned to the team. With head coach Steve Nash fired and Kyrie Irving suspended, it might be time for Brooklyn to revisit things.
Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney names the Knicks as a possible destination.
Durant Jumping Ship to the Knicks?
With Durant in the midst of a whopping $194 million contract extension, the Knicks would have to not only find a way to match that salary, but they’d also need to add draft picks to sweeten the deal.
What’s working in the Knicks’ favor is the fact they have both of those things.
“New York could offer a raft of draft picks, a couple of players who could help the Nets stay competitive if they want (Evan Fournier and Julius Randle) as well as young players like Quentin Grimes and Immanuel Quickley,” Deveney writes.
However, these draft picks might not be ones that will result in a franchise-changing player like Victor Wembanyama or Scoot Henderson.
“Well, they value those picks a lot and that’s why they don’t have Donovan Mitchell,” an executive told Deveney. “But if you are trading a star, especially a guy like Durant, you usually want a chance at a Top-5 pick. There is not much of a guarantee with the Knicks that their picks are going to be at the top of the draft.”
Can the Knicks Pull It Off?
If you’re the Nets, it’s hard to imagine wanting to trade Durant to a division rival, let alone one in the same city.
Durant is arguably still at the top of his game and many people would say he’s still the best player in the NBA. With that said, his tenure with the Nets has been filled with many ups and downs, and while many of those problems were out of his control, his reputation has taken a hit because of it.
Knicks fans would absolutely love to have Durant on the team, especially if it meant getting rid of Fournier and Randle to make it happen. However, it’d likely mean parting with more young talent, and if New York didn’t want to make the Mitchell trade happen, why would they do it for Durant?