According to a new report from ESPN insider Shams Charania, the Knicks are one of a handful of teams that have expressed interest in trading for Kevin Durant from the Suns. The report follows another from Charania from earlier in the offseason, where he stated that the Knicks could explore the addition of a "landmark" player. While adding a player of Durant's status sounds appealing, it could prove to be disastrous for the Knicks long-term, by strapping them with a bad contract and shortening their title window.
Per the report, the Suns have been preparing to trade the 12-time All-Star since the trade deadline last season, and the expectation is that talks will escalate before the NBA draft, which is scheduled for the end of June.
Durant is heading into the final season of a four-year $194 million contract, and is owed $54.7 million in the 2024-25 season. Charania noted that, "As trade talks progress, his [Durant's] desire for a long-term extension could prove a critical factor."
Durant isn't getting any younger
Last season, Durant averaged 26.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 6 assists per game. He remains one of the best scorers on planet earth, and his short chart is still primarily all green. He averaged 52.7 percent from the floor and 43 percent from deep.
As he has aged, he has become one of the best mid-range shooters of all time. Last season, he generated 1.09 points per shot from the mid-range, the best in the league among any player who attempted at least 100 of them, per league tracking data
All of that is factual. You would be hard pressed to find anyone who denies that Durant is still an elite player. Still, he will be turning 37 years old by the time the 2025-26 season begins. The production is still there, but he is heading into the twilight years of his career. Last season, he posted his lowest Estimated Plus-Minus since the second year of his career.
— bk (@vidaudio45) June 11, 2025
Shortening their title window
In order to acquire Durant, the Knicks would need to send at least one of their starters from last year's team, possibly Karl-Anthony Towns. Towns is seven years younger than Durant and still in the prime years of his career.
It just doesn't make sense to move off of him for someone so much older, right when their championship window is opening. Durant is eligible to sign a two-year deal worth as much as $112 million this summer, and it could get as high as $124 million if he delays signing it for a couple of months, per Charania.
That would mean that the Knicks would have Durant on the books until he is nearly 40 years old. No one is denying how good Durant is, but it doesn't make sense to take a risk that big when the Knicks are in the position that they are.