Wait, could Kevin Durant actually get traded to the New York Knicks? | Sporting News

Consider the stark contrast between the Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks. One team, the Suns, entered the season with high hopes of a championship only to be met with astonishing disappointment. The other, the Knicks, had more modest expectations, yet find themselves still very much in the postseason.

Could this disparity in fortunes lead to a potential blockbuster trade involving Kevin Durant?

The best way to answer that question is with another question. Why would the Suns trade Kevin Durant? Even though The Athletic’s Shams Charania published an expose detailing Durant’s issues in Phoenix, there haven’t been any reports indicating any issues between KD and the Suns. So why trade away one of the league’s best scorers who hasn’t slowed down much despite his age?

Well, the Durant experiment hasn’t worked at all, and he’s not getting any younger. Even more glaring, when it comes to ways to improve their roster, the Suns aren’t just low on options. They are straight up out of options. Given their cap situation, they won’t be able to upgrade their personnel.  Considering they didn’t even come close to winning a title, that’s a problem.

The Suns could try adding players on veteran’s minimum contracts again, but that’s a roll of the dice they tried last year and it came with little payoff. Is there a truly impactful player available for the minimum this summer who would swing their title chances that drastically? Common sense would tell you no.

So, the follow-up question is: why would the Suns send Durant to the Knicks? First things first, if Durant becomes available, the Knicks wouldn’t have the best package to offer. There would be other interested parties with better assets and more intriguing young talent. At the same time, being an Eastern Conference team makes them a more convenient trade partner for Phoenix than the likes of Oklahoma City and New Orleans. Also, the Knicks can offer the Suns a chance to replenish their war chest of draft picks while remaining competitive.

Why would the Knicks want Durant? Well, let’s be honest, this doesn’t need much explaining given his scoring ability and gravity he generates. He’s also a perfect fit alongside the Knicks’ core. Instead, let’s talk about why he would be the Knicks’ last piece.

The Knicks aren’t likely to win a title as currently constructed, but they have the foundation of a winner who needs just a little more firepower in the superstar department to reach that next level. Jalen Brunson has solidified himself as one of the league’s premier scorers. He is absolutely doing his part, but the bottom line is that he’s not enough. Julius Randle is currently New York’s best complementary scorer next to Brunson, but imagine if the Knicks managed to upgrade from Randle to Durant.

Better yet, Durant would give Brunson a more efficient partner-in-crime — which might be Durant’s calling going forward given his age — and New York wouldn’t have to sacrifice their core to land him. To match the contracts, all it would take is Randle and Bojan Bogdanovic. Oh, and an ocean of picks, which the Knicks conveniently have at their disposal.

The core of Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal was an experiment worth executing, but now they know how limited that ceiling is despite the strength of that trio. Getting Randle, who only has two years left on his deal, and Bogdanovic, whose contract will expire in 2025, is not the worst option. 

With the surplus of first-round picks at their disposal, the Knicks at least offer the Suns a decent exit strategy, knowing that they’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. They offer flexibility and the assets to manage through a situation like this. Durant is a golden goose that would be tough to relinquish, but this situation in Phoenix has proven itself too difficult to be a winning one.

No matter how their postseason turns out, the Knicks are on the rise, while the Suns met a quick demise. The Knicks can offer the Suns the chance to lick their wounds and regroup with a Durant trade. It seemed like a pipedream for years now, but given how everything has unfolded, the stars have potentially aligned for Durant to become a Knick. 

Man, 2024 has been a weird year…