NEW YORK -- The biggest competition for Kevin Durant was always thought to be the incumbent team, the Warriors. And why not? They are the two-time defending champions and the Knicks haven't won a championship since Richard Nixon was in the White House.
Except Durant has a wandering eye. The Warriors tried to downplay that publicly when they visited New York last month, but they knew then -- and they certainly know now -- their NBA Finals MVP is probably gone after this season.
Draymond Green spilled it into the streets Monday night when he berated Durant on the court and in the locker room, then was promptly suspended by the Warriors.
The Athletic got all the juicy details of the argument, and it revealed, above all, the insecurities surrounding Durant's free agency. According to the report, Green, while calling Durant a "b****" multiple times, reminded him they were winners before he arrived (Green had to know that's a sensitive spot for the sensitive Durant). Green also expressed his frustration with the way Durant is handling his free agency, according to the report.
If a player feels the tension over a teammate's free agency, the front office and ownership is sweating like Patrick Ewing on the free-throw line. That's why they handed Green a suspension, a reactionary and unexpected move given the circumstances. When Green cursed his coach in 2016, he was privately fined a small amount. When he dared challenge Durant in the same way, Green was suspended and docked a game's salary ($120,000).
It was a message of support to Durant, but it will undoubtedly backfire and cause further acrimony in the locker room. Everyone hates the teacher's favorite.
Listen, anything can happen over the next eight months. Green and Durant could have a crazy bonding experience at their hot yoga session. They could decide to play together forever at Golden State. Green, after all, was the one who recruited him to the Warriors in the first place.
But there's a reason Durant gave up money in his contract for an option to become a free agent. He is eyeing, or at least exploring, a relocation in 2019.
And the Knicks can't mess this up. They can talk all they want about rebuilding slowly and "doing things the right way," but they'll be preaching that jive forever without another chance to land a player like Durant.
But the Knicks won't be the only suitors. Chicago, Brooklyn, the Lakers and Clippers, among others, are expected to make a run. Watch out for the Clippers, who have a decent team already and will have enough cap space for two max free agents. If it comes down to ownership, Steve Ballmer is a lot more appealing than James Dolan.
"[The Clippers] are the most attractive free-agent situation of all of them, because none of the available free agents want to be LeBron's caddie," an NBA executive told Bleacher Report.
Durant cares deeply about his image and the background noise, even if he pretends not to. That's why he used anonymous twitter accounts to defend himself to random people. It's why the biggest newspaper in Oklahoma was forced to apologize for a headline calling Durant unreliable (disclaimer: there will be no such apologies in New York). It's why he heard about Clyde Frazier saying Durant should have an asterisk next to his name in the all-time rankings.
"Durant, as great a player he is, I would still hold back [giving him credit] because he joined a team that really didn't need him," Frazier told SiriusXM NBA Radio. "He's right there with LeBron, probably would've surpassed LeBron as the best player in the game soon, but for him doing that I still don't give him the full credit that he probably would've deserved if he stayed in OKC and won a title with that team."
Nobody would accuse Durant of joining a team that didn't need him in New York. Here, there's Kristaps Porzingis coming off knee surgery and cautious hope in players like Kevin Knox, Frank Ntilikina and whomever is their 2019 pick.
If Durant ever wins a title in New York -- or even brought the team back to the Finals -- the asterisk goes in the shredder. Frazier can apologize and Draymond Green can be thanked for his contribution.
Sports on 11/17/2018