The New York Knicks are among the first teams to get the ball rolling in the offseason. They began by trading for Chicago Bulls center Derrick Rose. Since then, they have been rumored to be in the market for Joakim Noah and Dwight Howard.
But while those are fine names to pursue, it appears the Knicks have their sights on a bigger target. The biggest name in free agency this summer is Kevin Durant. The Oklahoma City Thunder forward will be a target for every team, but the Knicks seem extra inclined to pursue one of the best players in the league.
According to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, Knicks president Phil Jackson immediately informed Rose of the plan:
According to a source, Jackson told Rose of his plan to pursue Durant starting on July 1st. That in of itself may be the worst-kept secret in the NBA, along with the notion that Golden State, San Antonio, Miami and both Los Angeles clubs are also planning to recruit Durant.
Obviously, this isn’t surprising and it may even just be a leak by the team to show fans they’re serious.
That said, the Knicks are obviously planning to go win-now quickly. Instead of rebuilding around prized rookie Kristaps Porzingis, it appears they prefer to have him as a piece on a team stacked with veterans. Those veterans may not be any good anymore, but Kevin Durant is.
The Knicks are a long shot to get anywhere close to signing Durant. However, their willingness to pursue top free agents is commendable. They do have to be careful about the free agents they sign, however. Adding multiple mediocre free agents who could push the team to seventh or eighth seed in the East and nothing more could be an incredibly dangerous thing to do.
Phil Jackson has seemingly shown that he wants to win now with any big names he can find. Kevin Durant, however, is the most distant of possibilities.
