Knicks not interested in landing former MVP?

Kevin Durant's reported availability on the trade market will dominate basketball discourse. Everything else begins to stand still whenever a superstar is made available via trade. Teams usually wait for the shoe to drop before starting their own business. 

Durant's market appears to be robust, with multiple contending-level teams linked to interest in his services. 

However, according to Steve Popper of Newsday, the New York Knicks are not among the list of interested teams.

"BTW, while the coaching search is on - hearing from a league source that despite reports -- and his all-time greatness -- Knicks are not one of teams in on Durant," Popper posted on X.

New York pushed all its chips in last summer. It parted with five draft picks to acquire Mikal Bridges and further emptied its cupboard to bring Karl-Anthony Towns to the franchise. Any move for Durant would likely significantly alter the current roster, which could be too drastic a change.

Furthermore, Durant is clearly in the final phase of his career. The Knicks are constructed around a younger timeline, with a sizeable window for contention ahead of them. Bringing in Durant would ramp up the pressure to succeed while lowering the margin for error. 

Then, there's the question of how Durant and Jalen Brunson would fit together. We've seen the superstar forward struggle when paired with a heliocentric guard. Stephen Curry is equally adept at playing off-ball as he is on-ball, whereas James Harden and Devin Booker are far more ball-dominant. 

Brunson is more Harden than he is Curry. 

Therefore, New York is right to avoid a potential Durant trade. They already have most of the pieces needed to be a champion. The roster needs small tweaks, and of course, a new head coach. So, while New York will likely be busy this summer, the fan base can rest easy knowing a roster reconstruction is unlikely to occur on Durant's behalf.