Knicks, Kevin Durant Trade Could Get Easier

The New York Knicks have been linked in the past for a trade regarding Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant.

Though a deal is unlikely, the Knicks may want to look into it further if the Suns drop their asking price.

"Sources informed The Republic the most ideal return on a Durant trade is regaining three first-round picks and a young player as part of a multi-team deal tied to getting under the second apron," The Arizona Republic reporter Duane Rankin writes h/t Bleacher Report contributor Grant Hughes.

The Knicks don't have many first-round picks after sending five to the Brooklyn Nets for Mikal Bridges, but New York could look to flip one of its key players like OG Anunoby for picks in order to send the right package to the Suns for Durant.

"Phoenix sent out Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, four unprotected first-round picks and a first-round swap to acquire Durant from the Brooklyn Nets in 2023, so netting just three first-rounders and a young player in return would leave the Suns less than whole," Hughes writes. "That's before considering a chunk of the necessary matching salary coming back might not be of positive value. (Durant will earn $54.7 million in 2025-26.)

"KD is still among the league's most efficient high-volume scorers, but he's finishing out his age-36 season. The Suns probably can't expect to get more than three firsts in return for him, especially given suitors' understandable questions about how long it'll take before Durant is ready to move on again."

Durant has been in the Big Apple before, but things didn't work out quite as well the first time. If he takes a chance with the team in Manhattan, a combination of him, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns could be the recipe to the Knicks' first championship since 1973.