Kevin Durant said Tuesday that the New York Knicks can’t rely on their “brand” to land the best players, many of whom don’t even remember the franchise being good.
“I think a lot of fans look at the Knicks as a brand and expect these younger players in their lifetime don’t remember the Knicks being good,” Durant said Tuesday in an in-studio interview with Hot 97 in New York. “I’ve seen the Knicks in the Finals but kids coming up after me didn’t see that. So that whole brand of the Knicks is not as cool as let’s say the Golden State Warriors or even the Lakers or the Nets now.
“You know what I’m saying; the cool thing now is not the Knicks.”
The speculation during last season was that the Knicks would make a full-court press to sign Durant once he became a free agent, but he instead signed a multiyear contract with the Brooklyn Nets in free agency.
On Tuesday, Durant said he didn’t seriously consider the Knicks in free agency.
“I thought about it yeah, just a thought. But I didn’t really do any full analysis on the Knicks,” the former NBA MVP and two-time NBA Finals MVP said.
The Nets have said they are not planning on the 10-time All-Star playing this season as he recovers from the ruptured Achilles he suffered in the NBA Finals with the Golden State Warriors.