Knicks made offer for Kevin Durant at trade deadline: NBA insider

After the Tom Thibodeau firing, it’s clear that the Knicks are ready to shake things up for next season.Kevin Durant’s bags are essentially already packed for him to be shipped out of Phoenix — and if New York were to make some inquiring phone calls, it would merely be a revisitation of the idea, at least according to one NBA insider.“I will say this, there was a mutual interest between Kevin Durant and the Knicks at the trade deadline,” Shams Charania reported Thursday on ESPN.“The Knicks made an offer for Kevin Durant at the NBA trade deadline.”Durant instead stayed with the Suns, who finished 11th in the Western Conference, though ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported last week that the superstar is all but a lock to be traded this offseason.And with the Eastern Conference wide open, mixing it up a bit could be necessary for New York to compete after it fell two wins short of the NBA Finals.“There’s gonna be some level of changes to this Knicks roster,” Charania said.

“Now, do you go for a landmark player? Do you try to look into Giannis Antetokounmpo? Do you look at Kevin Durant?”The Knicks seemingly lack the draft compensation to land a player of Antetokounmpo’s caliber after how much was given up for Mikal Bridges (five first-round picks), but a move for Durant could be more plausible.The 37-year-old is entering the final year of a contract that will pay him more than $50 million, which dampens the value one would expect for a 15-time All-Star who averaged 26.6 points per game this season.Even still, it would likely require New York to package more than one player to acquire Durant, and that could tap into key depth.Durant should field interest from plenty of other teams who believe they may be just one star away from competing for a championship. The Spurs, Timberwolves, Rockets and Mavericks are among those expected to make a push for the future Hall of Famer....