NBA Insider Shares Update On Kevin Durant's Rumored Knicks Interest

Kevin Durant will potentially hit free agency next off-season, after a third year with the Golden State Warriors. It is unclear whether he will leave, but the New York Knicks are expected to make a run at him.

Earlier this month, ESPN's Zach Lowe added fuel to the Kevin Durant Knicks rumors. On a podcast with Brian Windhorst, he stated that the New York franchise is set to "plan its offseason around him."

That doesn't mean Durant will make a jump to the Eastern Conference after three years in the Bay Area. The Knicks believe they have a chance though.

In the latest edition of his NBA newsletter for The New York Times, insider Marc Stein laid out his case against the Kevin Durant Knicks rumors.

The basis for Stein's beliefs: Durant will want to play at the new San Francisco arena that the Warriors are opening:

Knicks fans dreaming of a Durant signing next summer are hereby forewarned: It's not inconceivable that he may actually choose to make Madison Square Garden home someday, but it's extremely difficult to imagine the Silicon Valley-loving Durant doing so without playing at least one season in the Warriors' new Chase Center palace in San Francisco, which doesn't open until the 2019-20 campaign.

Durant has a number of options next off-season, whether he wants to stay with the Warriors or find another challenge.

He has a player option for the 2019-2020 season. That would net him over $31 million for the year. However, Durant very well may opt-out, and would garner bigger offers, even if he just gets another one-and-one deal that could push free agency to 2020.

Even if he remains with Golden State, the Knicks could have other big options. There are plenty of Kyrie Irving rumors out there as well, and next year's free agent class could be an all-timer.

[The New York Times]