It wouldn't be the Knicks if there wasn't a blip of hope before the eventual colossal disappointment. Once Durant tore his Achilles tendon, and Kyrie Irving began leaning towards the Nets, Knicks fans began to resign themselves to the eventual disappointment of missing out on the big fish of free agency.
Then, reports from legitimate reporters began to circulate that Durant would not follow Kyrie Irving to the Nets over choosing the Knicks. Finally, on Saturday Adrian Wojnarowski decided to give Knicks fans an ultimate dose of hope when he reported that Durant and Kawhi Leonard were talking to one another and were considering teaming up with either the Knicks or Clippers.
Knicks fans began to believe again. 24 hours later, Wojnarowski reported on Sunday afternoon that Durant would announce his destination on Instagram that evening, Knicks fans could taste Durant's arrival with a kicker of Kawhi. The dream didn't even last an hour.
Information started to leak that it wasn't the Knicks, but the Nets that were going to land Durant. Soon, it became official, and Knicks fans were left staring aghast at their phones that the once irrelevant Brooklyn Nets had been chosen instead of the Knicks by the top free agents in basketball. It was a kick to the gut of many fans, and understandably so.
Soon after the news was released, Ramona Shelbourne and Wojnarowski reported that the Knicks owner, James Dolan, was not prepared to offer Durant a full max contract, something that had been whispered late last week. They also reported that the front office would have tried to convince Dolan to go all the way, but the team was never given the chance because Durant had chosen the Nets without taking any meeting. It is concerning that past mistakes might be making Dolan too risk-averse, but due diligence on an injury that serious is never a bad thing either. In the end, it is irrelevant to where the Knicks are headed.
Today is also not the time to re-litigate the Kristaps Porzingis trade. We can revisit the past later. There is also no way to know if this summer would have played out differently if Durant was fully healthy since there is no way to know how that might have changed his thinking. It sounds a lot like Durant wanted to play with another star, a friend like Irving. Once Irving chose the Nets, the ship might have already been out of the dock.
Shortly after the Knicks signed Julius Randle and Taj Gibson later in the evening, Knicks President Steve Mills released a statement: "While we understand that some Knicks fans could be disappointed with tonight's news, we continue to be upbeat and confident in our plans to rebuild the Knicks to compete for championships in the future, through both the draft, targeted free agents and continuing to build around our core of young players."
There's no point in relitigating the past but a few points need to be made. The Knicks did always preach patience in terms of the building process, but don't let them convince you that losing out on Durant, Irving, and Leonard wasn't a tremendous blow. The team purposely cleared cap space with the Porzingis trade to sign stars, and failing to land their desired top targets was a failure. Trying to argue otherwise is foolish.
It's also important to recognize that purely from a basketball standpoint, this is far from the worst offseason moment in team history as some have suggested. Durant returning from an Achilles injury at age 32 is far from a sure thing. There is a serious risk there. The team is loaded with (good?) young players including newly signed Julius Randle, has extra first-round picks moving forward, no long term onerous contracts and flexibility to continue to improve the roster. They are not on a dead-end path with no hope. The plan to build through the draft and player development is in place. There is a ton of hard work ahead, and no guarantees, but this is not 2008.
Are the optics bad? Absolutely. The Knicks front office should be looking long and hard in the mirror and learn a lesson from why Kevin Durant chose the Nets over the Knicks. It isn't James Dolan, either. As much as fans might scream for Dolan to sell the team, he won't unless he wants to. He is an unchangeable variable. Even though neither Durant nor Irving has spoken on the record about why they chose the Nets, it isn't hard to figure out why.
Despite not having their own draft pick over the past half-decade, the Nets managed through drafting, trades, savvy free agent signings and player development to turn themselves into a playoff team. Being the sixth seed is not worthy of a parade, but it was clear to the rest of the league (despite some mistakes, like acquiring Allen Crabbe) that the Nets were a well-run organization with a defined playstyle, strong infrastructure, good coach and a solid roster ready to take the next step. No one says that about the Knicks.
The Knicks, a couple of years behind Brooklyn in their rebuild process after firing Phil Jackson two offseasons ago, need to be seen in 2021 when the next decent wave of free agents will hit the open market the way the Nets were this summer. The only way you can do that is to start winning basketball games. Especially with the new lottery odds, the Knicks can no longer be participating in a race to the bottom. Starting a season with the hope of getting the top lottery odds is no longer helpful enough to the franchise. The math doesn't work anymore. Tanking should be a thing of the past.
The Knicks had no choice but to lose a lot of games last season after Kristaps Porzingis tore up his knee and they had no flexibility to make any other moves, but the same can't be said for the present. The Knicks need to start showing progress. Signing Julius Randle to a three-year contract (with the third year reportedly being a team option) is a good start. Signing Taj Gibson is a play for a veteran to help mentor the younger players, provide veteran leadership and toughness in the frontcourt that will rub off and help win games. Bobby Portis? To be determined. Reggie Bullock? Good shooting and defending wing. Good signing. Wayne Ellington and Elfrid Payton? Only time will tell.
Whatever happens next, this is on the Knicks' front office, player development staff and coaching. Their future is going to be determined completely by their own moves, decisions and coaching. They can't blame the owner. They can't blame Phil Jackson. David Fizdale has to SHOW he is a good coach and implement a winning style. Scott Perry has to SHOW he can draft well and build a roster. The Knicks have to SHOW they can develop their own players. They have to SHOW they are competent and a desired destination.
The Knicks can only show that by winning basketball games. It isn't a playoff berth or bust scenario, but there needs to be improvement. Selecting in the lottery again is fine as long as there is progress in the right direction. RJ Barrett needs to be good and development from Dennis Smith Jr, Kevin Knox and Frank Ntilikina won't hurt either. There's no more time to waste. It needs to happen now or things are not going to change.
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