After the trade of Kristaps Porzingis, one thing has become abundantly clear: The Knicks had better have a plan. The team has dropped 16 straight games and currently has the worst record in the NBA, which they'll put on the line on Monday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers (7 p.m. ET -- Watch on FuboTV with NBA League Pass add-on), meaning that they do have a legitimate chance at landing Zion Williamson -- a potential game-breaker -- in the draft.
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However, it's not quite that simple. The Knicks need a lot more than one great rookie to become competitive. The team is clearly hedging its bets on landing Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving or both, and in one of the Knicks' recent season ticket promotions, a photo of Durant in-game against the Knicks was used.
The Knicks used KD’s image in a ticket renewal promotion for next season. After it hit social media, the Knicks have now said this: “Game action photos are used all the time for marketing purposes, but given everything going on, we took the precaution of taking the photo down.“ pic.twitter.com/74WqdzbMAp
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 11, 2019
As Darren Rovell notes, the Knicks released a statement when they were criticized for the image, saying that "Game action photos are used all the time for marketing purposes, but given everything going on, we took the precaution of taking the photo down."
While it may have been more at the behest of the NBA than precautionary, the Knicks and Durant are in the midst of a weird song and dance. First Durant snapped at media members for asking him about free agency, then the Knicks dug the issue back up.
It's no secret that every team in the NBA would pick Durant up if it could, but it will ultimately be a business decision for the back-to-back Finals MVP. A Durant billboard also popped around Madison Square Garden in October, which he blew off at the time. If someone asks him about this latest ploy by the Knicks, Durant might not be so lighthearted.
