What should they do, Doug, insult him by making him a lower offer than what he’ll get from other teams? That’s a real winning way to attract a star to your franchise. And what’s really bizarre is Gottlieb’s claim that the Knicks offering Durant a max deal would somehow be seen as a negative by Durant. So Gottlieb’s “desperation” premise is wrong, as it’s not like the Knicks are offering more than the market (because they can’t).Īnd while the merits of offering a max contract to Durant can be debated (pro: he’s a NBA MVP and a two-time Finals MVP, con: he’ll be 31 in September and has a lot of rehab ahead), at least some teams are going to do it. For one thing, it seems quite likely that it’s going to take a max contract to land Durant Gottlieb even mentions that the Warriors are almost sure to offer one, and he mentions reporting from Sports Illustrated‘s Chris Mannix that multiple NBA GMs said Durant’s injury wouldn’t (hypothetically, of course, to avoid tampering) stop them from offering him a max deal. There’s a whole lot of absurdity in this take. ‘You still want me?’ ‘Yes.’ I understand everybody wants to be wanted, and there will probably be other offers, and maybe he looks at it in the Gottlieb sort of perspective of ‘Hey, they want me whether I have one good leg or two, they’re all in on the business of Kevin Durant.’ But when you stop and take a breath and realize what that means for the Knicks, I’m not sure it comes across as well as they think it should come across.” “If I’m Kevin Durant, that kind of turns me off. For the Warriors it feels different even though it’s the same exact offer, because he’s been a member of the Warriors, because they were, frankly, in ownership of his rights when he tore his Achilles’ tendon.” But for the Knicks, it feels like a sign of weakness, it feels like they have no other options, it feels like desperation.
#KNICKS DIDNT OFFER KD MAX FREE#
“But honestly, the Knicks are sitting there saying, like Marc Berman from The New York Post reported, the Knicks are still expected to pursue Kevin Durant in free agency, Woj said Durant will only opt in to his current contract as a last resort, so the Knicks are going to offer him a max, the Warriors are going to offer him a max, he’s going to opt out.
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It would certainly be surprising, but not outside the realm of possibilities that Deandre Ayton is traded by Phoenix. If not, James Jones could scour the trade market for a deal before it gets to that point.
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However, given their hesitancy to bring him back on a max deal, would they match a max offer sheet he would likely receive from another team? He is unhappy with the organization after not receiving a max deal, so the team could look to move him in the future.Īyton will be a restricted free agent during the upcoming offseason, meaning the Phoenix Suns can match any offer sheet that he signs. Those numbers are on par with his career output, so if the Suns didn’t think he was worth a max extension before, they’re unlikely to change their mind now.Ĭould that mean a trade is eventually coming involving Ayton? It would be shocking for a team that just made a run to the NBA Finals to drastically change their core, but it could be the path the Suns take.īleacher Report recently named Ayton as one player who could be surprisingly dealt at the NBA trade deadline and it makes some sense. The former Arizona product is averaging 13.8 points, 11.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game thus far this season. LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: This Knicks-Suns Trade Is Centered Around Deandre Ayton