Knicks Rumors: Latest Buzz on Kawhi Leonard Pursuit, DeMarcus Cousins, More
The New York Knicks are in a much more uneasy spot when it comes to NBA free agency compared to where they were a few weeks ago.
The Knicks missed out on a potential Anthony Davis trade, and Kevin Durant—one of their top targets—is out for the 2019-20 season with an Achilles injury.
New York will still have a shot at signing the marquee free agents on the market, but there are already some talks about possible contingency plans if it can't bring in its top targets.
All the Knicks can ask for at the moment is a chance to persuade Durant, Kawhi Leonard and others to sign with the franchise, and if they are able to convince them enough to come and play at Madison Square Garden, the team's fortunes on the court should be reversed.
Latest Knicks Buzz
Kawhi Leonard
According to The Athletic's Sam Amick, the Knicks are likely to get a meeting with Leonard when free agency begins Sunday.
The Knicks are expected to speak with the 27-year-old, as well as with Kevin Durant, per The Athletic's Frank Isola.
The good news on the Leonard front is the Knicks will not get shut out of a meeting, which would have been one of the many worst-case scenarios for the franchise in free agency.
However, they face stiff competition for Leonard's signature from the Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers.
A strong argument can be made that each one of those three franchises has more to offer the player in terms of chasing a championship.
Toronto has the pieces in place to go after a second straight NBA Finals crown, the Lakers have revamped their roster with Davis now alongside LeBron James, and the Clippers have plenty of young players coming back from a squad that surprised many by making the playoffs.
The Knicks have an intriguing young core of RJ Barrett, Kevin Knox and Dennis Smith Jr. to potentially work with Leonard, but this is a team that is coming off a 17-win season and last-place finish in the Eastern Conference.
Coming to New York is a tough sell for Leonard, especially after his second championship, but there is still a chance the Knicks pull off a miracle and sign him.
DeMarcus Cousins
One of the more realistic targets in free agency for the Knicks is DeMarcus Cousins.
According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, they are weighing a considerable one-year offer to the 28-year-old if they miss out on Durant.
Landing Cousins would not make up for missing out on Durant, Leonard and others, but it would still bring some star power to the franchise.
If New York signs Cousins, it would be getting a healthy version of the center, who averaged 16.3 points per game in 30 games for the Warriors.
No matter which players they bring in, the Knicks have to upgrade their roster in some capacity, and adding a big man like Cousins would be viewed as such.
Combining his paint presence with the young scorers on the New York roster should lead to an improvement in the win column.
The one-year deal also makes sense from the team's perspective because Cousins is coming off a few injuries and it does not want to constrain itself financially ahead of future free-agent windows.
Kemba Walker
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the Knicks are one of three teams interested in Kemba Walker.
The 29-year-old and the Charlotte Hornets have sizable gaps in their contract negotiations, which has led to New York, Boston and Dallas having a shot at him, per the report.
According to ESPN.com's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Celtics are the favorite to land Walker on a four-year deal worth $141 million.
Losing out on Walker would hurt the Knicks because he would be improving the roster of a direct rival while not adding a key piece to their squad.
As with Leonard, they could have an outside chance to sign him, but the situation does not appear to be going in their favor.
With so many top-tier free agents interested in signing elsewhere, the Knicks are left with their quest for Durant, or a shift in mentality to inking players like Cousins to short-term deals.
Striking out in this batch of free agency will be tough to swallow for the franchise, but going with the short-team deals is a better strategy than handing out more money than certain players deserve and holding back the franchise a few more years.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from Basketball Reference.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
