Phil Jackson and the Knicks have until July 1, 2016 to get their house in order and here’s something Jackson and the legions of long-suffering Knicks fans can latch onto: The Knicks are in play.

The countdown to Kevin Durant’s free agency has already begun in places like New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Washington and especially Oklahoma City, where the next 18 months will fly by faster than Russell Westbrook on the break.

Phil Jackson and the Knicks have until July 1, 2016 to get their house in order and here’s something Jackson and the legions of long-suffering Knicks fans — are there any other kind? — can latch onto: The Knicks are in play.

“No question about it,” says a person close to Durant. “Kevin loves Carmelo (Anthony). It could work in New York. But never rule out the Thunder.”

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OKC is under the gun to return to the NBA Finals for the first time in three years and give Durant every reason to re-sign with the club long-term. GM Sam Presti is a pro-active executive, which is his greatest strength and weakness. Remember James Harden?

Presti already made one significant trade this month by acquiring Dion Waiters from the Cavs. And according to a source, Presti nearly traded Reggie Jackson to Denver this week, but the deal fell apart.

The Knicks have expressed interest in Jackson, but for what it’s worth, the word coming out of the Thunder locker room is that Durant is not a big fan of the free-agent-to-be guard. And depending on whom you talk to, there are also whispers that Durant is growing increasingly frustrated with Westbrook, one of the league’s most dynamic players and whose style is shoot first, ask questions later.

The question for Presti and coach Scott Brooks will eventually be: continue to build around Durant and Westbrook, or trade Westbrook for a point guard more to Durant’s liking.

The criticism of Westbrook can be a little over the top. When OKC reached the NBA Finals three years ago, Westbrook was the team’s best player. The following season, Westbrook suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first game of the playoffs and the Thunder was history.

Last year, and with Westbrook and Durant both healthy, the Thunder reached the Western Conference finals but played without Serge Ibaka in Games 1 and 2 against San Antonio. Ibaka and the Thunder had dominated the Spurs during the regular season, but OKC never recovered from dropping the first two games with Ibaka sidelined with an ankle injury.

“Not having Serge was huge,” said Brooks, the former Knick who was on the floor during that memorable playoff fight with the Miami Heat in 1997. Now, Brooks is fighting to keep his team together.

The possibility of Carmelo Anthon teaming with Kevin Durant in New York in 2016 gives Knicks fans reason for hope.
Durant has already missed 25 of 46 games, including the last two with a toe injury. He began the season on the inactive list following foot surgery. Westbrook broke his hand during the first week of the season and missed 15 games.

“It’s definitely been a challenge,” Brooks said. “You have to deal with it and put yourself in a position to win. And we still have a good enough group to win games even when we have guys out. But it does make it a challenge. But it’s a challenge that you have to embrace.”

Brooks is criticized about as often as Westbrook despite the injury issues OKC has endured for two seasons. Also, the team erred badly by trading Harden — that’s a Presti gamble that backfired famously — after its one and only trip to the Finals. Harden is an MVP candidate while the Thunder has mostly been injured and unhappy this season.

OKC entered Wednesday’s game against the Knicks sitting in 10th place in the mighty Western Conference and with a date against Memphis on Saturday. Durant, who is expected to play against the Grizzlies, spent part of Wednesday’s pregame chatting with Anthony on the court. He is close to Derek Fisher, his former teammate, and admires Knicks executives Steve Mills and Allan Houston.

Is that enough to get Durant to New York? The Lakers will have cap space, Dallas is a perennial contender and Washington is home.

But at least the Knicks are in the game, which is more than we can say about the current team on most nights.

Would anyone trade our pick for him this off season?

Would he work with Melo? Won't know until we know.

StarksEwing1 wrote:

Dagger wrote:I'll believe it when I see him in a knick uni and not a moment sooner

exactly. We heard the same thing about lebron chris paul and others

I agree and seriously doubt he is even thinking about playing in NYC. Its just standard agent operating procudure - mention the Knicks to get your client more money. Standard formula in every sport.

StillaKnicksfan wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:....lies straight from the pits of hell! Repent!

The last thing you want to do is cut New York off the list of free agency destinations, even it is unlikely. It just creates a little added leverage for Durant just in case he wants to force a trade somewhere else. I'm sure there's probably similar article running in the Philadelphia Inquirer about how much Durant would love to join a young team like the Sixers.

Nope, they know that no one wants to play down here. I have been living in Philly for the past 10 years and they are like the Knicks struggling to entice talent to come. The saving grace for NY if you want to call it that is that it is NY and not Philly. All they talk about down here is how much the Phillies and Eagles really stink.

NardDogNation wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:....lies straight from the pits of hell! Repent!

The last thing you want to do is cut New York off the list of free agency destinations, even it is unlikely. It just creates a little added leverage for Durant just in case he wants to force a trade somewhere else. I'm sure there's probably similar article running in the Philadelphia Inquirer about how much Durant would love to join a young team like the Sixers.

True but the issue I have is that reporters make it seem as though the alleged interest is serious, when in reality, it is simply a marketing ploy. Durant may leave OKC but I fail to understand why it would be to a team like us.

Kevin Durant is from the DMV. If he leaves OKC for anywhere it will be The Washington Wizards.

misterearl wrote:Frank Isola is selling nothing but manufactured rumor. The Answer Man is not buying.

Kevin Durant is from the DMV. If he leaves OKC for anywhere it will be The Washington Wizards.

I hope he does...it would be great for the game. Plus as a knick fan it would be an awesome era if we could build our team to compete against that Washington team. The league and the fans need that