Knicks inquiring about Kevin Durant trade shouldn’t come as a surprise
Last week, the Kevin Durant saga finally came to an end, at least for the foreseeable future. The Brooklyn Nets and the 12-time All-Star are reportedly back on the same path of working together to win the organization’s first-ever NBA title. That’s both good and bad news for the New York Knicks.
Now that the attention’s off KD, a Donovan Mitchell trade could happen sooner rather than later, but that also means that teams could put their assets towards working to put together a package that’ll catch Danny Ainge’s eye. But the truth remains that Mitchell’s most likely going to end up being traded to the Knicks.
New York’s been interested in Mitchell for some time now, but it should come to no surprise that the front office reached out to Brooklyn about a possible Kevin Durant trade. Regardless of how Knicks fans may feel about Durant, he’s one of the top players in the league. When a player such as KD becomes available, teams must do their due diligence by reaching out to inquire about a trade, which is what New York reportedly did.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who was a guest on the STUpodity podcast, the Knicks made calls to the Nets about Durant.
The Knicks reached out to the Nets about a possible Kevin Durant trade
Charania said that “both sides were cognizant they didn’t really have enough.”
If you think that the Nets would trade Kevin Durant to the Knicks — of all teams — then you’re quite the wishful thinker. After all, KD had his chance to go to the Knicks in the summer of 2019, but he opted for the Nets instead. So far, that move hasn’t turned out great for him, Kyrie Irving, or Brooklyn.
And just because both players are at least going to start the 2022-23 season with the Nets doesn’t mean that everything’s drastically improved within the organization. It’s only a matter of time before another fire breaks out, but if Brooklyn can prevent that from happening, the Nets will have a real shot at winning a championship. It’s a long 82-game regular season, though.
In the end, New York’s where it needs to be. With a little over a month and a half left until the start of the season, the Knicks are expected to trade for three-time All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell. He’s no Durant, but maybe that’s a good thing. Nevertheless, expect the Knicks to surprise a lot of people this year.
