By now, every fan of the NBA knows that next summer Kevin Durant will become an unrestricted free agent. Many teams have prepared themselves to potentially make a run at signing the Oklahoma City Thunder superstar, but the favorites have always been the Thunder and his hometown team, the Washington Wizards. One other team that will definitely try to throw their hat in the ring and may get serious consideration is the New York Knicks, according to Stephen A. Smith of ESPN.
The Knicks have a couple of things going for them concerning Durant's impending free agency. One of them is the New York market, as there aren't many players that wouldn't love a chance to play 41 games a season in New York City at Madison Square Garden. Another thing they have going for them is Durant's relationships with star player Carmelo Anthony and head coach Derek Fisher. Anthony has reportedly been recruiting Durant to New York, and Fisher is a former teammate of Durant's who he has the utmost respect for.
Although the Knicks have things going for them in getting Durant, they also have things going against them. First and foremost, they aren't a very good team. Last season, the Knicks won just 17 games and although they are expected to be better this season, they are still unlikely to make the playoffs and it is doubtful Durant would leave a Thunder team that is a championship contender every year to join a Knicks team that struggles to get into the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
Another thing going against the Knicks is their cap situation. As of right now, the Knicks only have a little less than $19 million in cap room for the 2016-17 season, according to Basketball Insiders, which would not be enough to sign Durant. The Knicks do have possible ways of opening up more cap room, but it will certainly take some maneuvering to get done.
Even if the Knicks do open up cap space, they are likely the third option for Durant, at best, when he hits free agency, and that could drop even lower if they have another bad season. Phil Jackson has yet to get much done in his tenure as an executive with the Knicks, but all will likely be forgiven if he can somehow bring Durant to New York.
