Kevin Durant was on the New York Knicks’ radar entering the trade deadline. He is probably still on their radar now. But bringing him to The Big Apple requires the Knicks to make a choice:
Karl-Anthony Towns or Kevin Durant?
Superstar-trade pursuits are seldom such binary discussions. In this case, though, it has to be.
Karl-Anthony Towns has to be the outgoing salary in any KD trade
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals that the Knicks made an offer for Durant leading into the 2025 trade deadline (h/t Awful Announcing). They were likely making the same choice they must mull over now, deciding between a 36-year-old KD with one season left on his contract, or a 29-year-old Towns, who is owed over $170 million through 2027-28.
Technically speaking, New York can cobble together other packages beyond a KAT-for-KD framework. None of them make much sense.
The Knicks’ salary-cap situation essentially demands they do NOT take back more money in a trade than they send out. Durant is on the books for $54.7 million next season, so that’s the number New York must match or exceed.
Towns will make over $53.1 million in 2025-26. That is close enough to KD’s money for the Knicks to send out a smaller salary (likely to a team other than the Phoenix Suns) to make the math work.
That same math gets trickier if New York doesn’t build its offer around KAT. Including Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart only gets you to $44.9 million, so you’re talking about including one or two more players. Attaching Hart or Bridges to OG Anunoby gets you over the hump, but at that point, what becomes of your defense? Anunoby plus Mitchell Robinson almost gets you there, but you're arguably nuking your defense even more.
This is the challenge—the impossibility—of acquiring Durant without moving Towns. The Knicks’ biggest problem, even more so than the recently dismissed Tom Thibodeau, is their depth. Turning two or more of your top-six or -even rotation players into a soon-to-be 37-year-old only exacerbates that issue.
Should the Knicks want to make a KD-for-KAT swap?
This is a tough call for New York to make. And it’s not as simple as just rendering a verdict on Towns’ future. Other moving parts will be involved. Are the Knicks willing to include Pacome Dadiet, Tyler Kolek, or one of the three first-round swaps they can dangle? Will the Suns push to expand the deal so someone else, such as Deuce McBride or Mitchell Robinson, is on the table?
This isn’t only predicated on how the Knicks feel about Towns, either. It’s also about the market for him. Phoenix reportedly isn’t interested in KAT as the centerpiece of a KD trade. Assuming this is true, New York would need to suss out at least one other team who wants its big man, and is willing to compensate the Suns to get him.
Still, the core decision doesn’t change for the Knicks. They are effectively choosing between KD and KAT.
Sure, Durant might elevate this team’s ceiling if it gives up two to three other rotation players. But asset consolidation also thins out New York’s already-slim margin for error. Flipping Towns and salary filler isn’t just more convenient. It’s the only way trading for Durant makes any sense at all.