The New York Knicks apparently weren’t as aggressive as they could have been with Kevin Durant.
Durant, who signed with the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday for $164 million, wasn’t even offered a max contract by the Knicks, according to Ramona Shelburne. (RELATED: Kevin Durant Will Sign With The Brooklyn Nets For $164 Million, Kyrie Irving Will Get $141 Million)
New York didn’t offer max money because of concerns over his Achilles injury, which was suffered in the NBA finals against the Toronto Raptors.
The Knicks and owner Jim Dolan were not prepared to offer Kevin Durant a full max contract due to concerns over his recovery from the Achilles injury, league sources tell me and @wojespn. Knicks officials are in Los Angeles tonight, meeting with free agents such as Julius Randle.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) June 30, 2019
I know that Durant likely will miss all of next season, but he’ll still be a star player once he returns. He might not be like he used to be, but the star forward at 75% of his old self is still a player you want on your team.
The Knicks not offering him a max deal is mind-bogglingly stupid. All we’ve heard about for weeks was about how Durant to the Knicks was almost certainly a done deal.
Now, we’re finding out they wouldn’t even offer him a competitive amount of money! James Dolan might be the dumbest owner in all of sports.
I don’t care if Durant can play next year or not. Dolan and the Knicks trying to lowball him when any other team wouldn’t is beyond dumb.
It’d be one thing if no team was offering him a max, but that wasn’t the case. The moment one team was willing to offer the most cash allowed, then the Knicks had to make a move.
If you’re the Knicks, you can’t get outbid. You just can’t, especially when it’s for a generational player like Durant.
If I was a fan of the Knicks, I would be ready to riot. Once again, Dolan has proven to be incredibly incompetent.
Fans have to demand a change. They just have to. The Knicks are officially the biggest joke in the NBA, and it’s an awful look for the league.
P.S.: this tweet below aged horribly.
The Knicks have lost 17 straight.
This time next year could look A LOT different. pic.twitter.com/r8H0eKLkGS
— ESPN (@espn) February 12, 2019