When Kevin Durant went down with what was later revealed to be an Achilles injury early in Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals, the only fanbase more heartbroken than Knicks fans was probably Warriors fans themselves.
For months, Knicks fans had sat through another embarrassing 17-win season waiting for greener pastures ahead. Those better days were supposed to be brought in by a group of talented superstars and highly-drafted rookies coming in, led by Durant himself. But as we all watched the super slow-mo of what looked like a gunshot going off within Durant’s lower leg, then watched hours later as teary-eyed Warriors GM Bob Myers confirmed the injury was an Achilles, all hoped again seemed lost.
The Knicks were supposed to draft Zion Williamson first overall after winning the NBA Draft Lottery…then they received the third overall pick. The Knicks were supposed to sign free agent Kyrie Irving away from the Celtics…now it seems likely that Irving wants to head to the crosstown rival Nets instead. And the Knicks were supposed to sign Durant as their savior, starting next season…instead, he tore his Achilles three weeks before they could do so.
So the master plan has failed once again. The trio of Durant, Irving and Zion will not be coming to Big Apple next year to save our forever-cursed franchise. Same old Knicks.
So what is Plan B?
The old Knicks would’ve probably ditched the idea of signing Durant, went for a bunch of free agents who did not want to sign here, and end up reaching for two free agents to fill their max slots…this year I’m thinking that would be Tobias Harris and Khris Middleton.
But instead of doing that, I propose that the Knicks should still go after Durant in free agency next month. Now, after reading that, you probably either agree wholeheartedly with me, or you think I’m an idiot. For those of you in the latter, let me at least try to convince you as to why this isn’t an awful idea.
Durant will be turning 31 by the time next season starts. By the next full season that he’s able to play, he’ll be 32. Coming off a serious injury such as an Achilles at that age would normally scare you away from any player. But this isn’t just any player…this is Kevin Durant.
If Durant’s not the best player in the NBA today, he’s in the top three without a doubt. In his three seasons with the Warriors, he’s averaged 26 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists per game, while shooting a whopping 52 percent from the field and 38 percent from 3-point range.
The old saying with Achilles injuries is that the injured player never comes back the same. Okay that’s fine, so when Durant comes back he’ll only be a top-10 player in the NBA, instead of top-3. Or maybe he’ll only average 26 points per game in the playoffs from here on out, instead of the 29.6 he averaged in three seasons in Golden State.
Plus, to be honest, I don’t how much this injury truly hinders Durant’s game. Obviously everyone is different and we don’t know his body will respond, but most guys tend to see a drop off in explosiveness after an Achilles injury (think Derrick Rose, for example). Well Durant’s game is not really dependent on his explosiveness. He’s a historically great shooter that can dominate you from the perimeter just as easily as he can when driving to the basket.
But the question obviously is, how would he fit in to the Knicks? Well here’s my plan: sign Durant and let him take however long he needs to rehab the injury. Select RJ Barrett in the NBA Draft next week, and allow him to develop in 2019-20, along with other young contributors Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson and Allonzo Trier. Then, take a crack at signing one other max-level free agent. Maybe it’s still Irving, maybe it’s Kemba Walker, or Klay Thompson, or even a pipe dream of Kawhi Leonard. Or, you could save that max slot for next summer, and take a crack at that free agent class.
If he follows a normal timetable, Durant will need roughly nine months before he can return to the court, meaning he could come back by early March. Maybe, and I know this sounds insane, but maybe the Knicks will actually still be playing meaningful games at that point, and Durant can come right in and enter another playoff chase.
The Knicks have a budding young core, a lot of money to spend and a ton of draft picks to use in the coming years. Pairing all that with Kevin Durant in the hopes that he’s able to regain most of his prior Hall of Fame-level form is a risk no doubt. But for a franchise that has not truly been relevant once since the turn of the century, it’s a calculated risk worth taking.
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