It turns out those ever-present rumors connecting Kevin Durant to the New York Knicks may be off by just a few miles.
A new report claims that hometown rival Brooklyn Nets may have jumped into the lead to land the talented big man who is believed likely to bolt from the Golden State Warriors. Though there had been longstanding rumors claiming Durant was headed to the Knicks, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst says there are a number of league insiders who believe the Nets may have surpassed the Knicks.
As Tommy Beer noted on Twitter , the report claimed a number of people around the league confirm that the Nets are the frontrunner for Durant now. Like the Knicks, the Nets were expected to make an aggressive play for Durant and the prospect that he can lead a team in the league’s biggest market.
Other NBA reporters seem to confirm that rumor. As Sports Illustrated noted, insider Adrian Wojnarowski pegged the Nets, Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors as the teams in “serious consideration” for Durant. Wojnarowski also contradicted some other reports claiming that Durant was closely tracking the decisions of another free agent, namely Kyrie Irving.
Wojnarowski said that Durant was planning to make the decision for his destination on his own, not based on what any other player decides. Another report from Yahoo Sports noted that Durant appeared to be put off by teams he felt were too aggressively pursuing him.
“Durant seems particularly sensitive about being seen as swayed by outside opinion,” the report noted. “When Draymond Green talked about calling Durant from the parking lot after Golden State lost Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, Durant vehemently denied it. That was an oddly public disconnect between the teammates. Their heated argument in November might even heighten Durant’s resistance to the notion [that] Green knows best for Durant.”
What will the Knicks do if they don’t land Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard or Kyrie Irving in free agency? @IanBegley says they have a Plan B https://t.co/RC9PrcxnMG pic.twitter.com/uQa8yEg84Y
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 21, 2019
That could serve as a warning to teams like the Knicks and the Nets to tread cautiously regarding how they pursue Kevin Durant, the report noted.
On ESPN’s The Jump, @WindhorstESPN says the Nets are “gaining confidence” that they’ll sign Kevin Durant.
Kendrick Perkins says the Nets are the front-runners to land KD.
Windy adds that Perkins is “not the only person involved in the NBA that has told me that.” pic.twitter.com/1svJgn5F6k
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) June 21, 2019
It was also not clear yet how the season-ending Achilles injury could affect Kevin Durant’s decision. He faces a long recovery and rehab process ahead and with that, the prospect of missing most or all of the upcoming NBA season. There has been no indication yet as to how this could affect the teams expected to pursue Durant or whether or not he might stay with the Warriors for another season before jumping into free agency.
