There’s a plausible scenario in which Kevin Durant leaves the Warriors in free agency next summer. Durant is slated to hit the open market when July 1, 2019 rolls around, as the two-year deal he agreed to with the franchise this past summer features a player option for next season. All of this beg the question: Should Durant opt out, would he return to Golden State, or would he continue his career elsewhere?
According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, a team to watch if Durant becomes a free agent is none other than the New York Knicks. Haynes appeared on Undisputed on Wednesday morning to talk about Durant’s future, and dropped some serious hints that New York could be a major player in the former MVP’s free agency.
"New York Knicks have a very good shot at luring KD away from the Bay Area. … The same allure that LeBron had towards the Los Angeles Lakers, just the building, the culture, is the same way I know that KD feels about the Knicks." — @ChrisBHaynes pic.twitter.com/04xDGmLA2k
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) October 3, 2018
“New York Knicks have a very good shot at luring KD away from the Bay Area,” Haynes said. “The reason I say that is his business partner, Rich Kleiman, is based in New York, huge New York Knicks fan. Their business is located and based in New York. KD’s dad is a big New York Knicks fan. The same allure that LeBron had towards the Los Angeles Lakers — just the building, the culture — is the same way I know that KD feels about the Knicks.”
Haynes did admit what hangs over any rumbling about Durant leaving: Golden State has a built-in advantage to keep him in the Bay Area, just like any incumbent team would have in this type of situation. Time will ultimately tell if this is anything more than a rumbling nine months before a decision has to be made, but if Durant does indeed end up heading to the Big Apple next summer, at least we’ll get to say we knew it was coming.
