Kevin Durant has revealed that his agent and several members of his family wanted him to sign with the New York Knicks in 2019, but the franchise “wasn’t great” so he joined the Brooklyn Nets.
Durant made this admission during a meeting with his agent Rich Kleiman that was published Tuesday.
During the portion of the video where Kleiman and Durant discuss the 14-time All-Star’s free agency decision, Kleiman said, “Do me a favor, can you tell the camera and the Knicks fans watching this? I wanted you to be to the brother of the Knicks.’
“Oh, you definitely did,” Durant responded. You definitely did, more than anything. Dad, you… man love the Knicks. All…’
The two then expanded on how much Kleiman, who noted that he had been a Knicks fan for more than 40 years, wanted Durant to sign with New York before he finally signed a deal with Brooklyn.
Kevin Durant’s agent and his family wanted him to sign with the Knicks in 2019.
Durant instead opted to sign with the cross-town rival Brooklyn Nets as a free agent that year.
He spent two and a half seasons in Brooklyn before asking for a transfer and ending up in Phoenix
‘At that time they weren’t. The Knicks weren’t great. But they’re a cool brand… Like now, they’re hot… in the last few years,” Durant said.
‘But before that, the brand was great, but I was looking at the team. And it wasn’t good to play on the team.
“The equipment was not nice to look at. I could have embellished or lied a little about the brand, I could have included the brand in there too.
“But of course the Knicks brand, like living in New York, made me realize it’s the greatest city in the world.”
During his free agency, Durant didn’t even give the Knicks a chance to meet with him and make a recruiting pitch, even though their meetings were held near the Hamptons.
Durant, who now plays for the Phoenix Suns, only played in Brooklyn for two and a half seasons before requesting a transfer and landing in Arizona.