Source: Knicks didn’t want to offer KD max deal

5:03 pm | June 30, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:

8:43 PM ET

Ramona Shelburne
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ESPN Senior Writer
- Senior writer for ESPN.com
- Spent seven years at the Los Angeles Daily News
Adrian Wojnarowski
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NBA
- Senior NBA Insider
- Joined ESPN in 2017
- Host of The Woj Pod

The New York Knicks were not prepared to offer Kevin Durant the four-year, $164 million contract he eventually committed to with the Brooklyn Nets because of concerns about his recovery from his Achilles injury, league sources told ESPN.

Player	Days Between Games
Kevin Durant	?
DeMarcus Cousins	357
Rudy Gay	273
Wesley Matthews	237
Kobe Bryant	240
Chauncey Billups	296
Elton Brand	243
LaPhonso Ellis	222
Dominique Wilkins	283
— ESPN Stats & Information

Coming off such a catastrophic injury, Durant was interested in only maximum contract offers. With New York unwilling to take that risk, the Knicks front office instead flew to Los Angeles to meet with and secure a commitment from Julius Randle on a three-year, $63 million deal.

Durant had long been a focus for the Knicks, who made several trades this year to secure the requisite salary-cap space to sign him and another superstar. However, their thinking changed after Durant’s injury, which is likely to keep him out all of next season.

The parties never discussed financial terms of a possible deal, but Durant wouldn’t have considered an offer below the full max, which Brooklyn, Golden State and the LA Clippers offered, league sources said.