No Meeting Lined Up Yet For Durant, Knicks

We’re just four days away from the start of the NBA’s 2016 free agent period, and while players can’t sign contracts with teams on July 1st, plenty of clubs will be prepared to make pitches to newly-available players on Friday. We’ve heard that the Thunder, Warriors, and Spurs have scheduled meetings for Kevin Durant, with the Celtics, Heat, and Clippers also working to solidify sit-downs of their own. However, it remains to be seen whether the Knicks will be given the opportunity to meet with Durant, per Ian Begley of ESPN.com.

According to Begley, no meeting has been scheduled – or agreed to – between New York and Durant, and while the Knicks remain optimistic that they’ll ultimately receive consideration from the star forward, it’s not a great sign that they aren’t among the initial group of suitors with whom he’ll meet.

Sam Amick of USA Today suggested on Sunday that the acquisition of Derrick Rose had put the Knicks back on Durant’s radar, but Amick conceded within that report that a meeting between the two sides was no sure thing. It’s possible that after meeting with his initial six suitors, Durant will remain undecided and would be willing to take a meeting with the Knicks or another team. Still, the Knicks appear to face long odds, considering the former MVP isn’t expected to take a ton of time to make a decision.

A meeting with Durant at least remains a possibility for the Knicks. For other would-be suitors, such as the Lakers and Wizards, such a meeting appears increasingly unlikely, as Amick wrote on Sunday. The USA Today scribe hinted that if Durant takes a meeting with the Lakers, it may just be a way to help the franchise save face. As for the Wizards, they’re waiting for a call from Durant’s camp “with hopes of being surprised,” but are preparing for free agency as if the D.C. native won’t be a part of their plans.

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