With the dust barely settled from the Knicks' Eastern Conference Finals loss to the Indiana Pacers, the team's front office is reportedly already starting the process of evaluating the roster. According to a report from ESPN's Shams Charania, that evaluation process could lead the Knicks to explore the addition of a "landmark" player this offseason.
Speaking on Sports Center, Charania had this to say:
"I'm told the Knicks have internal meetings this week to evaluate everything from the roster, different changes they could make around everything, but especially the roster. If the last year and a half is any indication, Knicks president Leon Rose has gone out and gotten OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Karl-Anthony Towns. I expect him to be just as aggressive this offseason, whether it's a landmark player that you could bring in there or definitely depth on that bench."
While Charania did not mention who the potential landmark players were, there are several All-NBA level players, specifically Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant, who have been rumored to be available via trade. The Knicks have been linked to both players in the past, and it would make sense that they at least checked in with both teams this summer.
Antetokounmpo and Durant have big price tags
Acquiring Antetokounpo seems far-fetched for the Knicks. They dished out half a dozen first-round picks last summer to acquire Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets, and it is hard to envision the Milwaukee Bucks parting with their former MVP without serious draft capital coming back.
Antetokounpo is under contract for the next two seasons, and has a $66,821,676 player option for the 2027-28 season. Because of the Knicks' financial limitations, any deal to land Antetokounpo would likely involve trading Towns. It would also, in all likelihood, require Antetokounmpo to push for the move himself.
In today's NBA, players of Antetokounpo's level tend to dictate where they want to go. We've seen that with Durant, James Harden, and numerous other superstars in the past. The Knicks' best, and probably only, path to landing the All-NBA talent would be if he requests to be traded to the Knicks and only the Knicks.
The path to landing Durant would be easier, though less exciting than landing Antetokounpo. Durant is still playing at an All-Star level, don't get me wrong. This past season, he averaged 26.6 points per game, 4.2 assists per game, and 6 rebounds per game. He is still among the most efficient shooters in the game, knocking down 52.7 percent of his shots from the field and 43 percent of his shots from three.
Still, he is approaching the twilight years of his career. Durant will be turning 37 early in the 2025-26 season. He is seven years older than Towns and would greatly shorten the Knicks' window to compete for a championship.