Knicks News and Rumor Roundup

It seems that Knicks fans no longer need to be overly concerned about Kevin Durant drama impacting New York...

A recap of the latest buzz in and around the NBA…

🏀 Most basketball fans assumed that if a blockbuster were to go down on Father's Day, it would involve Kevin Durant. However, KD still resides in the Valley of the Sun for the time being, while Desmond Bane has been rerouted from Memphis to Orlando (more on that in a moment).

Regarding the Durant situation, ESPN's Shams Charania stated during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday that the Rockets, Heat, and Timberwolves have been the teams with whom the Suns have been most seriously engaged.

"(The Suns have) had about six to eight teams reach out," Charania said. "There's been interest, there's been some offers, there's been some negotiations. But really, in the last 24 to 48 hours, I'm told, the focus of the Suns' conversations has been on a few of the teams: the Houston Rockets, the Miami Heat, and the Minnesota Timberwolves. I'm told those are the three teams right now where a lot of the focus for Durant lies."

On Saturday, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) noted that Phoenix is looking to drop below the second apron by potentially moving Grayson Allen and/or Royce O'Neale. Dipping below the second apron is a "primary objective" because it would allow them far greater flexibility (such as aggregating salaries) in a seemingly inevitable Durant swap. Fischer also reports that Houston is "exceedingly reluctant" to meet the Suns' recent demands for KD.

Although Durant has let the Phoenix front office know there are a handful of teams he wants to be traded to, per Sam Amick of The Athletic, KD's preference "won't likely be a deciding factor" as they scour the market. "League sources say Durant prefers to play for the San Antonio Spurs or the Houston Rockets, for example, but there are complicating factors with both of those negotiations that (for now, at least) make a deal look unlikely. From there, the list of reported suitors — with Minnesota and Miami among them — is somewhat similar to the one from four months ago."

Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic confirms this reporting, adding that while the Suns want to do right by KD, newly elevated general manager Brian Gregory knows this is his best chance to reset the franchise and impress ownership. Rankin also states that there is a league-wide expectation that a Durant deal could happen as early as this week.

🏀 Interestingly, Marc Stein, via his Substack, reports that the Knicks would have been included among Durant's preferred landing spots, "but were ultimately omitted when New York made it clear that it has decided against pursuing a trade for the NBA's No. 8 all-time leading scorer."

Earlier in the week, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post reported the Knicks "are not in the mix" for KD. It seems that Knicks fans no longer need to be overly concerned about the Durant drama impacting New York.

🏀 Regarding the Knicks coaching search, James L. Edwards III for The Athletic reports that former Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins and former Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown will both interview with Leon Rose and the New York front office this week.