The Knicks are in the midst of a busy offseason after their best playoff run in 25 years. They surprisingly dismissed their head coach Tom Thibodeau after losing to the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals in hopes of making a stronger push for next season. With the Celtics expected to be diminished for the 2025-26 with Jayson Tatum sidelined with a torn Achilles, the Knicks are reportedly in the market for another big star via trade. Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports that the Knicks are one of the teams expected to pursue Kevin Durant in the coming weeks.
Durant, 36, seems like the most likely star to be traded this offseason after a disastrous past two seasons for the Suns. The future Hall of Fame forward has one year left on his deal for $54.7 million, making him a risky bet for teams unless they can get someone certainty he would sign an extension.
The Spurs, Rockets, Heat and Timberwolves are among the teams that have already been connected to Durant in potential trade talks to go along with Durant.
Trading for Durant would not be easy for a team like the Knicks from a financial standpoint, putting aside whether they are willing to pony up the assets to land Durant. The Suns enter the offseason as a second apron team, which limits them into their potential salary return for Durant (just 100 percent of his salary).
The challenge for the Knicks will be finding a way to match salaries in a potential Durant deal while giving the Suns the assets they want. New York ideally would offer up Karl-Anthony Towns ($53 million) in a deal but that Phoenix radio host John Gambodoro hinted last week that the Suns would not be interested in a trade package.
That leaves potential wings like OG Anunoby ($39.5 million) and Mikal Bridges ($24.9 million) as potential centerpiece options for a deal although more money would need to be sent out by New York to make the salary matching work.
The Suns famously dealt away Bridges along with Cam Johnson and four first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Durant at the trade deadline in 2023.
Given these complications and the limited draft capital the Knicks can offer in a trade, New York would be far from the favorite to land Durant in the trade due to the long list of suitors that would be in play for the high-scoring forward.