Knicks Wanted to Pair Jalen Brunson With 2-Time NBA Champion: Report

The New York Knicks are on the list who had “mutual interest” with Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Wednesday.

“Back at the NBA trade deadline, there was a list of teams that there was mutual interest with Kevin Durant,” Charania said on “The Pat MacAfee Show” on Wednesday. “Those teams, from my understanding, are Minnesota, that’s New York, Houston, San Antonio and Miami.

“Those are the types of teams, from my understanding, that had interest then, and I expect them all to be in the mix this offseason. But the biggest thing to keep an eye on for all NBA fans and fans of those teams is: How does your team finish in the playoffs? How do the playoffs go? Because that’s going to really determine who feels like they’re a Kevin Durant away.”

Durant rejected a midseason reunion with the Golden State Warriors, where he won his two NBA titles and Finals MVP awards, to finish the season in Phoenix. But the Suns’s season turned for the worse. They are 1.5 games outside of the play-in tournament with the toughest schedule remaining. On the other hand, the Knicks are the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference heading into the homestretch.

Suns owner Mat Ishbia did not categorically deny the Durant trade talks in an ESPN story published on March 14.

“I’ll just say that we’re going to evaluate in the offseason,” Ishbia told ESPN. “We’re going to find a way to win, and it’s probably a lot easier winning with Kevin Durant than without him. But at the same time, yes, if we’re not good enough in this iteration of the Phoenix Suns, we’re going to find a way to be better next year.”

Kevin Durant’s ‘Knicks Weren’t Cool’ Quote

Durant once shunned the Knicks when he chose the Brooklyn Nets in 2019 to team up with Kyrie Irving.

In February of 2024, Durant revealed that his agent, Rich Kleiman, a long-time Knicks fan, and his family wanted him to sign with them. But Durant chose the Nets at the time because they weren’t winning.

“At that time, the Knicks weren’t cool, but they are cool brand,” the 2-time NBA champion explained. Like when the Knicks are on right now. They’re popping. They’re probably well the last few years.”

But they have turned their fortunes around since Leon Rose, Kleiman’s former rival in NBA player representation, became the Knicks president and built around Jalen Brunson.

Suns ‘Will Work’ With Kevin Durant in Future Trade

They started their difficult three-game road trip with a 133-123 loss to the Damian Lillard-less Milwaukee Bucks without Durant, who stayed behind in Phoenix to rehab his ankle.

“So you look at this from a macro perspective,” Charania said on “The Pat McAfee Show. “We’ve seen from Mat Ishbia the last two and a half years how aggressive he’s been. He is not spared any expenses. He’s clearly showing that, as an NBA owner, he’s willing to take multiple swings. He wants to take millions of swings at the bat to try to win a championship.”

The Suns entered the season with high expectations on Year 2 of the Durant-Devin Booker–Bradley Beal Big 3 experiment. With less than two weeks left in the regular season, they resemble a lottery team except that their first-round pick in this year’s draft is heading to the second-seed Houston Rockets.

“From a wholistic perspective, there’s going to be changes coming to Phoenix, barring a miracle finish to the year,” Charania continued. “There’s going to be a lot of that. They’re going to have to look at, to evaluate throughout the organization, from a roster perspective. That’s going to start with Kevin Durant and potentially finding him a new home. Unlike at the trade deadline, when he was almost traded to the Warriors, the Suns and Kevin Durant would work together on any trade.”