The New York Knicks are apparently the favorite to land Warriors’ superstar free agent Kevin Durant, per an anonymous agent.
According to the Athletic, an anonymous agent believes Kevin Durant will be on his way to New York this upcoming offseason. This is the second report of a confirmed rumor about Durant. The first was a report claiming Durant would be headed to LA earlier this season.
Frank Isola, a national writer for The Athletic, said the Knicks are “all in” on their pursuit of Durant. He cited several league executives who echoed as much, and one player agent said, “Everyone says Knicks” when discussing which team Durant will play for next.
This is a huge development in the race for Kevin Durant.
Ultimately, we still have about six months until the four-time scoring champion and former MVP has to decide on his next home. However, all reports from Durant himself imply that he’s happy with his team in Golden State.
Durant is averaging 29.0 points per game and also dishing out a career-high 6.1 assists per game. His game is becoming more complete, and he’s grown virtually unstoppable. How long will the Slim Reaper’s dominance continue?
It will more-than-likely keep up for the next half a decade, making Durant the league’s No. 1 free agent in 2019. There isn’t another player in the league that quite like Durant. He can score, dish, rebound and defend with the best of them.
That said, he’s doing it on a team with four stars. Think about Durant on a team by himself or with just a few other above-average players. That’d be his reality with the Knicks. Would he want to put himself in a place of mediocrity again?
The Warriors have seemingly been giving Durant ever reason to leave. They will be re-signing Thompson this coming offseason and don’t expect him to take a pay cut. If Thompson snags a max deal, what will be left for Durant?
If the Knicks can offer Durant a long-term max contract like LeBron James received this past offseason, why not join the Knicks? He’s proven he can win. He has nothing left to prove. Why not chase the bag?
That said, don’t be shocked if Durant actually does decide to go out East for the first time in his career this coming offseason.