A Billboard depicting the cartoon versions of Kevin Durant and Kristaps Porzingis side-by-side, wearing the Knicks blue, orange, and white, has been erected close to Madison Square Garden. This marks the first overt recruitment of Durant in a public space since the remote possibility of his acquisition became apparent. The billboard bears the question: "Can you make NY sports great again?" alongside KD's Instagram handle @easymoneysniper.
The cartoon rendering of Kevin Durant can be seen lugging around the Larry O'Brien Trophy he's won for the past two seasons as a member of the Golden State Warriors. The person responsible for the advert has since broken their silence.
"My business partner and I are lifelong Knick fans, and we are tired of all the losing so we decided to do our part in helping our team recruit the best players the NBA has to offer, because that's what New York sports deserves," said Benjamin Pokh, president of the marketing that made the pitch.
The New York Knicks have already begun paving the way for a max contract, first by exercising a stretch provision on Joakim Noah's contract, thus allowing him to pick up his career elsewhere. The Knicks' front office also decided against extending Porzingis' rookie contract, thus giving them a little wiggle room come July 2019.