New York Knicks: How does Kevin Durant fit?

Soon to be free agent superstar Kevin Durant has been rumored to be a target for the New York Knicks. How would Durant fit with the Knicks young core?

Kevin Durant appears to be in an ideal situation: he is given offensive freedom on a roster many deem the greatest to ever play. Yet despite the obvious luxuries of being surrounded by all-star talents on both sides in the Warriors starting lineup, there are reasons to be cautiously optimistic Durant could consider the New York Knicks next summer.

The Knicks have the ability to offer Durant a max contract at season’s end—pending they shed another contract—pairing the unicorn with the unicorn namer, and potentially taking the New York out of their never-ending irrelevancy in the NBA’s postseason picture.

Signing Durant would require the Knicks to reevaluate their current core, and make decisions as to where their homegrown projects are best suited to slot in next to the former MVP.

The Knicks currently have three pieces that are seen as potential franchise building blocks on their roster. All three of those players are arguably best positioned as forwards within the Knicks offense. Adding Durant, who primarily plays at the small forward position, to a lineup with Kevin Knox, Frank Ntilikina, and Kristaps Porzingis will be extremely difficult for head coach David Fizdale.

The first step when evaluating the allocation of forwarding minutes is making a decision on Frank Ntilikina. The French point guard has played both point guard and small forward to begin the season and has yet to distinguish himself as strictly a ball handler or a wing. Ntilikina has shown promise in his passing and playmaking abilities, yet significant progress is necessary before he can be handed the keys to the offense as the starting point guard.

More from Knicks News

• Former New York Knicks center gets real about 2013 playoff shortcomings
• When is the deadline for the Knicks to extend Immanuel Quickley?
• How to watch New York Knicks players compete for bronze at World Cup
• 3 Reasons Tom Thibodeau can’t ignore Miles McBride in 2023-24
• Knicks fans get super anticlimactic ending to 2023 FIBA World Cup

The second decision to be made is the position of rookie Kevin Knox. The Kentucky product possesses the athleticism and size of a wing player, and likely would find difficulty in matching up with larger power forwards. Knox has flashed the ability to be a Durant-like scorer in his ability to knock down shots from beyond the arc while utilizing his 7-foot wingspan. It is in the best interest of both the Knicks, and Knox, to put the pair of Kevins on the floor together, and therefore likely would need Knox to spend time at the power forward position. This may require Knox to develop his interior scoring, as well as his strength when guarding stronger players.

The final question is the positioning of the Knicks current cornerstone player, Kristaps Porzingis. Many have argued Porzingis should eventually become the Knicks center, as his ability to space the floor will make him a nightmare matchup for many of the league’s traditional big men. The issue in Porzingis spending the majority of his minutes as the team’s center is his inability to rebound at an elite rate.

Despite being one of the league’s tallest players, Porzingis has struggled throughout his career to box out opponents of similar size. Rebounding is a fundamental part of the David Fizdale vision of the Knicks fast-paced offense. If Porzingis fails to improve his ability to secure the misses of Knicks opponents, he may be reserved to one of the Knicks limited forward positions.

The Knicks must decide how to put their young players into positions where they can both develop and produce most efficiently. Yet despite a current excess at the forward position, the Knicks must chase Durant as their top free agent target. Talent tends to figure itself out.