Carmelo Anthony isn’t wasting any time in trying to persuade Kevin Durant to sign with the New York Knicks this offseason.
Durant, who will become an unrestricted free agent July 1, reportedly is scheduled to meet with six teams, including the Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors and his current team, the Oklahoma City Thunder. New York wasn’t on the list as of Monday afternoon, but Anthony told ESPN his recruitment of the seven-time All-Star won’t be affected by “whether he meets with the Knicks or not.”
In fact, Anthony’s sales pitch already is being made.
“We’ve been together. We’ve been talking,” Anthony told ESPN of Durant, who has been in New York in recent days leading up to the announcement of USA Basketball’s roster for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
“I do consider myself part of the Knicks, so that meeting has already taken place,” Anthony added.
Durant reportedly is scheduled to meet with the San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers in addition to the Celtics, Warriors and Thunder. Oklahoma City remains the front-runner to re-sign Durant, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports’ The Vertical, but nothing is guaranteed. And even if Durant stays in OKC, it’s possible he’ll sign a one-year contract, meaning he’ll hit the open market again next offseason, at which point this summer’s conversations can be revisited.
Anthony probably will have to do some serious convincing in order to lure Durant to the Big Apple. The Knicks are coming off an awful campaign in which they went 32-50. They went 17-65 in 2014-15, and they’ve missed the playoffs each of the last three seasons.
New York just landed Derrick Rose in a trade with the Chicago Bulls, though. Perhaps the idea of playing alongside Rose, Anthony and Kristaps Porzingas will entice Durant.
‎”You know, for me, it’s more just about just laying it all out for him, giving him the real,” Anthony told ESPN. “Being in that situation before and knowing how much he has to think about‎ and what he has go through, him not wanting to leave Oklahoma ‎(after) all the time that he spent there, ‎I felt the same way when I was in Denver, spending 7 1/2 years there and then to have to make a decision. But you leave it up to him. He’s going to make the best decision for him. I think that’s the most important thing‎.”
Durant has spent his entire nine-year career with the Thunder franchise.
Thumbnail photo via Bob Donnan/USA TODAY Sports Images
