The smart money is on Kevin Durant re-signing with the Golden State Warriors next summer, keeping together a team for the ages that is racking up rings and having fun doing it.
However, other teams sense that the first of the “big four” in Golden State to bolt will be Durant, that he will want his own team, and so they are prepping for the possibility. Teams are making sure they have the cap space next summer, and they will have their pitches ready if Durant decides to test the waters.
And players are going to recruit him. That includes his former Thunder teammate Enes Kanter, who was on SiriusXM NBA Radio with hosts Eddie Johnson and Justin Termine Wednesday and said he would recruit Durant, who should come to the Knicks for the chance “to build a brand all over again.”
“It is New York. If you are with New York, you’re king of America and king of the world,” Kanter said…
“We are New York. He’s a free agent. We need to use that. We are the best city in the world. That could draw a lot of attention for free agents. I would love for him to be my teammate again. When he was my teammate he was an amazing teammate, amazing character, scorer and basketball player on court and off the court, too. I would love to see him be my teammate again.”
Kanter trash talked Durant and his decision to leave OKC from the day it happened — at points from the bench of the opposing team — so maybe he’s not going to be the face of New York’s recruitment.
No doubt the Knicks would love to land Durant and if given the chance to make a pitch it would sound a lot like “you could be king of America and king of the world” if you play here. Paired with a (hopefully healthy by then) Kristaps Porzingis and a young core, there would be real potential there.
However, so many questions have to be answered before then. It starts with will Durant actually leave the Warriors? That’s far from a given. Then there are the Knicks finances, they should have max cap space after they waive and stretch Joakim Noah (like what the Lakers recently did with Luol Deng, although don’t expect a discount from Noah), but they also have to reach terms on a max contract extension for Porzingis. There’s some financial juggling that needs to go on in NYC.
Among those financial questions, what to do with Kanter? He is a free agent next summer, coming off a season where he will make $18.6 million. The Knicks may want to bring him back, but not at near that price and likely not until Durant or another free agent signs with the team because the Knicks will need that cap space.
Kanter told Johnson and Termine he wants to stay a Knick, that he loves the city and the team. He’s told the Knicks’ that too and made no secret of it, but whether that will be enough remains to be seen. However, if he can help recruit Durant it will help his cause.
