If we think about it (not always the first impulse of sports fans) it was a bit silly of us to assume that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were a two-star package for any NBA club that could afford them.
They didn't share a college team, NBA team, or even a banana boat. Yet we thought the Knicks, with their $72 million in cap space, were all set to make it rain on the pair of players and then take a giant eraser to their recent, rancid history.
Too many things could happen (on and off the court) to split them apart, and did. So that dream sequence that was to start on June 30 and was to end at noon on July 6 - the official courtship period for NBA free agents - with bookend NBA champions on the Knicks' roster has melted into free agent mutations and consolation prizes. Instead of Kyrie and KD jogging across MSG in their freshly-pressed warmups to a deafening ovation, Durant has a year of grueling rehab before him and Irving has his eyes, heart, and checkbook set on Brooklyn. With one snapped tendon, the Knicks went from lords of the NBA free-agent frontier to afterthoughts.
Part of our native hubris is our refusal to acknowledge another team, even in the Big Apple. To Giants fans, the Jets don't exist. To Yankees fans, the Mets don't exist. And to Knicks fans, the Nets don't exist. Why would Kyrie covet Brooklyn when he can play in Manhattan? Why would Durant have such a singular focus on a squad that has gone 17-65 twice in the last five years?
If you listened to "Boomer & Gio" this morning, the boys rattled off the current, most likely destinations for the best players on the market.
Kemba Walker - Celtics
Kyrie Irving - Nets
Kevin Durant - Nets
Jimmy Butler - Rockets or Sixers
Kawhi Leonard - Raptors, Lakers, Clippers
There's still a lingering sense that the Knicks should stalk Durant and then pay him biblical sums of money to monitor his snapped Achilles tendon for a season. But while Durant has a high basketball IQ, so much of his skill comes from his legs. He's hardly Dan Marino - a largely stationary player whose rapid-fire release keeps him from being defended. Durant's game relies on slithering through picks, making quick pump-fakes, and a fast-twitch first step to create room for his shot. He will be 32, on the back nine of his physical prime, and a high-priced variable for a team that has crapped out on almost every major move they have made this century.
The Knicks could take a run at Kemba Walker or Jimmy Butler, and at least claim a modest victory during a month that was supposed to be gift-wrapped for them. The Knicks wanted Zion and got RJ. They wanted Kevin and could get Kemba, although Boston might get to him first. At least they would be palpably better than they were last year when they had the worst record in the league. Just because the Knicks have so much money to spend, doesn't mean they must spend it.
If the Nets bag Irving, they add an All-Star to a surging team that made the playoffs last year. If the Knicks snag Durant, it will be yet another retrograde move that's made them an NBA punchline since the days of Jerome James, Eddy Curry, and "Starbury." Even if Durant morphs into the next 'Melo, the Knicks have heard that scratched record already. If the Warriors somehow agree to sign Durant to a max, five-year deal worth $221 million and ship him to the Knicks, they may find a facsimile of the former NBA Finals MVP, and must wait about 14 months to play him.
Clearly, the Nets, not the Knicks, have the best shot at scooping up Irving and Durant. The one advantage the Nets have playing in the sprawling shadow of MSG is that they can roll the dice on Durant and, if it fails, they don't have to worry about the sweeping media backlash that often haunts the Knicks. Plus, they would still have Irving. As Jerry Recco and Greg Gianotti stated this morning, there are few stars willing to team-up to play for the Knicks. This slice of cyberspace has long asserted that 2 Penn Plaza has lost its historical allure and prerogative as the World's Most Famous Arena. Folks have scoffed at the declaration. Yet we still don't see big-ticket players fawning over the prospect of playing on 33rd Street.
Brooklyn has over $65 million in cap room, a new arena and a trendy location. Those of us born and raised in Manhattan think that when the Universe was created, it began with Times Square. But there are five boroughs in our beloved city, and the Nets occupy one of them, and may soon own all of them if they keep evolving and the Knicks keep devolving.
Follow Jason on Twitter: @JasonKeidel
