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Check out the latest edition of the Lowe Post Podcast featuring Zach Lowe, Howard Beck and Rachel Nichols.
At 27min mark, they bring up Durant and Rachel Nichols immediately brings up the Knicks as a viable option.
Seems to be in the tone of "informed speculation"
But reasons she cites are

- one upping Lebron on his move to LA
- KD's manager, Rich Kleiman, ties to the Knicks
- Durant not being satisfied in Golden State
- Warriors brass unsure if Durant wants to remain there and were even concerned he would leave this offseason
- Opportunity for KD to fix his image
- Return of the Mecca
- Scott Perry's ties to Durant when he was working for Sonics when KD was drafted there

She said if KD takes meetings then he will def meet the Knicks.
She put odds that KD as more likely that not that this could happen.
Lowe and Beck both agreed that you can't dismiss the idea it could happen

Just interesting stuff

It's a long shot, but if our rookies continue to show promise and growth and KP comes back late in the season and shows something... I could see our chances for a great free agent signing (like a KD) go up tremendously for 2019 and even 2020. Our rebuild would be accelerated and, if we could weaken GSW in the process... that's a double wammy.

KD also boys with Trier and Knox hmmm

Before anyone takes what i say out of context i would be ecstatic with KD as a Knick BUT....As stupid as this is going to sound i prefer Kyrie to KD. KD will be 30+ next season and i dont think we would have the requisite pieces around him to win the title and i dont really want to see us trade away Frank and Knox for vets to go all in for 2-3 years right now. Kyrie will still be 27-28 next year and we can continue to grow with him. He was an mvp candidate last year before the injury and admittedly im a sucker for the hometown kid coming home... Also i think he fits our team slightly better. Basically i think Kyrie sets us up for more sustained success than KD would. Id be happy with either or both obviously though.

Knicksfan1992 wrote:Before anyone takes what i say out of context i would be ecstatic with KD as a Knick BUT....As stupid as this is going to sound i prefer Kyrie to KD. KD will be 30+ next season and i dont think we would have the requisite pieces around him to win the title and i dont really want to see us trade away Frank and Knox for vets to go all in for 2-3 years right now. Kyrie will still be 27-28 next year and we can continue to grow with him. He was an mvp candidate last year before the injury and admittedly im a sucker for the hometown kid coming home... Also i think he fits our team slightly better. Basically i think Kyrie sets us up for more sustained success than KD would. Id be happy with either or both obviously though.

So do I.

Sigh...I hate pipe dreaming. And the endless starphcking the Knicks have tried over the last 20 years has kept us in the gutter.

But...I don't think it's a pipe dream. I think we have a shot. Might be just a small shot, but, I think KD will listen. The positive press that's been slowly building with the ESPNs & FS1s of the world is quite a paradigm shift.

Durant will never get the respect he craves with the Warriors.

It's been 45 years and counting for NY. The brave soul that finally takes up our cause and wins a championship here will be a legend forever.

Mills & Perry have this headed in the right direction. The Knicks are starting to build respect.

Kristaps Porzingis | Mitchell Robinson
Kevin Durant | Lance Thomas
Kevin Knox | Mario Hezonja
R.J. Barrett | ??????
Frank Ntilikina | Rajon Rondo

Crazy long lineup. Probably the favorite to win. If he wants to restore his career. Why not? The only way I can gain respect after literally hating his guts.

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again - Durant is too soft to play here. He can’t handle the criticism or the media. The minute any of our fans boo him the dude is going to fold. He’ll have to create another 25 burner accounts just to keep himself happy. That and the dude is not an alpha.

If you want to get a big fish then go get one but make sure he is a leader and can carry the team. I don’t think Durant has that in him. If he did he wouldn’t have chosen the easy way out.

MP4LIFE wrote:I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again - Durant is too soft to play here. He can’t handle the criticism or the media. The minute any of our fans boo him the dude is going to fold. He’ll have to create another 25 burner accounts just to keep himself happy. That and the dude is not an alpha.

If you want to get a big fish then go get one but make sure he is a leader and can carry the team. I don’t think Durant has that in him. If he did he wouldn’t have chosen the easy way out.

lol KD can def carry a team, he’s just not a leader of men.

y'all crazy for preferring kyrie over kd. absolutely mental.

kd at his size and skill is impossible to really shut down. he won't have many 'bad games'. his defense is pretty elite now too. he doesn't need to be oakley to be productive. his skill and measurements is a cheat code that allows him to be a unique weapon even when 'soft'.


but more importantly, he's probably reading this thread right now and ppl hating on him is gonna make him not want to come. let's chill with that.

I think the only way he comes here if the warriors lose and wants a challenge to gain back his respect if he wins a title with the knicks he will become a legend.

KD can come and hide behind Knox and KP and have ny fanbase defend and praise him on instagram. Reasonable

Let's talk about this for a moment.

First of all, Rachel Nichols was adamant when she said and I quote, "The OKC Thunder did not trade Harden to d/t luxury tax." Um, sorry Rach...Bill Simmons broke it all down to dollars and cents. Yeah. They did.

Now, let me roll the clocks back to the Kevin Durant sweepstakes where KD was hanging in the Hamptons and did NOT even field a phone call from the Knicks. At least Lebron allowed an audience from Donnie Walsh. KD hung out just a few hours from NYC and didn't even give the Knicks a pastry by his personal chef.

So here's the thing....

Durant will finish up this upcoming season with the Warriors, then opt-in to go 2/2...Then at the age of 31 years of age (something the Knicks are good at signing guys past their prime) he'll sniff the Knicks IF...IF they offer him the maximum amount of cap space they have available for FOUR seasons.

Otherwise he'll go someplace like Phoenix, Houston, Dallas, or become a lumberjack in Seattle.

Lol he not coming. Let’s just keep the rebuild going

K P 6 wrote:KD also boys with Trier and Knox hmmm

Is he boyz with Knox to? I know Trier said they talk all the time but didn't know him and Knox talk or hang as well. There's no other free agent i'd want over KD and if we could get KD and Kyrie to take a little less then it's on.

Knicksfan1992 wrote:Before anyone takes what i say out of context i would be ecstatic with KD as a Knick BUT....As stupid as this is going to sound i prefer Kyrie to KD. KD will be 30+ next season and i dont think we would have the requisite pieces around him to win the title and i dont really want to see us trade away Frank and Knox for vets to go all in for 2-3 years right now. Kyrie will still be 27-28 next year and we can continue to grow with him. He was an mvp candidate last year before the injury and admittedly im a sucker for the hometown kid coming home... Also i think he fits our team slightly better. Basically i think Kyrie sets us up for more sustained success than KD would. Id be happy with either or both obviously though.

Maybe we won't have to choose? Not easy, obviously, but if we are somehow able to dump THJ by attaching a pick, stretch Noah, and shed Lance/Lee, wouldn't we have the room to do both?

(Certainly a long shot, but at a minimum, it's encouraging to see that the early buzz being created by the combination of KP, Knox and Fiz, along with the inherent attraction of NYC/MSG, seems to be making us a consideration for top free agents again vs. the automatic no of recent years.)

didn't KD say "never" when asked if he'd sign with the knicks?

BowlRips wrote:Check out the latest edition of the Lowe Post Podcast featuring Zach Lowe, Howard Beck and Rachel Nichols.
At 27min mark, they bring up Durant and Rachel Nichols immediately brings up the Knicks as a viable option.
Seems to be in the tone of "informed speculation"
But reasons she cites are

- one upping Lebron on his move to LA
- KD's manager, Rich Kleiman, ties to the Knicks
- Durant not being satisfied in Golden State
- Warriors brass unsure if Durant wants to remain there and were even concerned he would leave this offseason
- Opportunity for KD to fix his image
- Return of the Mecca
- Scott Perry's ties to Durant when he was working for Sonics when KD was drafted there

She said if KD takes meetings then he will def meet the Knicks.
She put odds that KD as more likely that not that this could happen.
Lowe and Beck both agreed that you can't dismiss the idea it could happen

Just interesting stuff

I'll use this as another location to posit my KD to the Knicks theory. Or, more accurately, the reasons why KD might consider it.

Reasons to stay with the GSW
Rings, rings and more rings.
KD has two. Pencil him in for 3 next year. That ties him with LeBron, the player he'll be compared to when their careers are over. Not a direct comparison, but they'll sort of come up in the same breath, not unlike Magic/Bird
KD could then OPT IN, get a 4th and one up LeBron that way. IF one upping LeBron is important to him
KD could just re-sign, and pick up somewhere in the neighborhood of 5,6 rings and be remembered as, if not an original member, then an integral member of one of the iconic teams in NBA history. This is obviously the strongest reason to stay

Reasons KD might leave
Lebron "chased rings" right? Well, if LeBron was ONLY about rings, he would have stayed in Miami another few years and won another one or two. Lebron ensured he won a wing, stayed for another, then decided, in a VERY CALCULATED MOVE, to go back to Cleveland. That was very media savvy to change how he was currently viewed, but also how he'd be viewed when his career is over. To go back to the "home team" in a feel good story, deliver a championship, be a hero, no longer be a villain. And did he stay after? Nope. He went to LA to be on a "good" team, but perhaps not a championship team, but headed to a major media market and is basically positioning himself for post career life.

KD also left his "home team" and deliberately joined a team that was already a champion without him, so he could "fill in his resume, his career", with a championship. I believe both players, or Lebron, then KD, realized the kind of leverage and power they have, and used it to ensure they wouldn't go "ringless". Now, once one ring, or two, or three is out of the way, the question is what the next motivation. I think KD is VERY cognizant of the fact he's viewed a villain. Not quite A-Rod, but his brand went from "KD's a good guy" to "KD is kind of d*ck" and also "KD is a coattail rider". IF KD is satisfied having tied LeBron with 3 rings (and I think that's important), there is a very real chance he signs with the Knicks so he can be seen as "taking on the challenge of winning one as the lead guy" and also it sort of erases a lot of "KD is a front running ahole" from his brand. And that's just for evening signing on for a few years. If he wins a championship with the Knicks, then it's "he's the guy who ended the 46 year drought, he's a hero etc etc". And that would be a big deal for the post playing days KD legacy. And I really think LeBron and KD are wired to think this way.

It's a big if. Leaving a team that will be considered one of the top 4 in nba history is a big deal. But even LeBron showed his was wired not in an entirely "win as many rings as possible" and nothing else way. I think there is a strong chance KD is similar.

no way we sign him after he said this last year.

“Everything starts at the top. You got bad leadership at the top, it’s just going to trickle down to everybody else. So once you get the bad leader out, then…

It’s so much separation between your front office and your players…When a GM wants to make a decision, he’s gotta to talk to the owner and he’s nowhere to be found and he don’t care, then you kind of stuck and that causes tension.”

the organizational competence stuff can change, and is changing. don't think it's a dealbreaker if the player development stuff takes a big stride forward this year and they have some young core to show for it with a good system in place.