As the New York Knicks look to improve their roster, one insider broke down the likelihood of them landing Kevin Durant or Jaren Jackson Jr.
The Knicks are a team in a state of flux right now. Their offseason has been chaotic since the moment the Knicks were eliminated from the playoffs.
Since then, the franchise shockingly fired Tom Thibodeau and has been hunting for a new head coach since.
While the Knicks eye Taylor Jenkins and Mike Brown as potential candidates to replace Thibodeau, they are also considering tinkering with their roster.
Right now, they are in the race for Kevin Durant. While the Knicks aren’t the favorites, they are an option worth considering.
And recently, the Knicks have also considered Jaren Jackson Jr. as a trade target. But what are the chances of them landing either star?
New York Knicks expert Ian Begley spoke about their chances of landing Kevin Durant or Jaren Jackson Jr. in a trade.
When it comes to Jackson, Begley doesn’t think the Knicks would pull off a blockbuster trade for him over another star. As for Durant, his age is the biggest barrier in any potential deal.
“It would be a seismic move, and it would be letting people know you don’t believe in the core you put together 12 months ago.
“I’d be a little bit surprised if that big caliber of trade ended up with a Jaren Jackson Jr and not a bigger name player.
“I don’t think there was a real, strong, legitimate interest in trading for Durant and signing him to that extension at age 37.
“That was the consistent thing coming out of my conversations, I don’t think anything’s going to change here, you can cross him off the list as we get closer to the draft.”
The problem for the New York Knicks, when it comes to improving their roster, is their lack of cap flexibility and trade assets.
For starters, the Knicks are hard-capped at the first apron of the salary cap. This means their wage bill cannot exceed $178.7 million in total.
The way to go around this would be to offload some stars via a trade. The issue, however, is that the Knicks have no draft capital or tradable assets.
Most of their picks were used last offseason to land Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns, but they do still have their 2028 and 2030 first-round picks.
However, the Stepien rule dictates that teams cannot trade draft picks in consecutive years. Having sent the 2025, 2027, 2029, and 2031 picks to the Nets, the best the Knicks can offer in any trade are pick swaps.
How can the Knicks maneuver out of this difficult position? President Leon Rose and the front office will have to figure out a solution if the Knicks want to improve their roster.
