The New York Knicks entered free agency on Sunday with enough cap space to offer two max contracts, but they apparently weren't willing to use up one of those slots on Kevin Durant. As we know, Durant opted to sign a four-year deal with the Brooklyn Nets, where he'll team up with All Star point guard Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan.
Shortly after Durant made his announcement, ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Wojnarowski reported that the Knicks and team owner James Dolan "were not prepared to offer Kevin Durant a full max contract due to concerns over his recovery from the Achilles injury."
Durant, who will turn 31 in September, is expected to miss the entire 2019-20 season as he recovers from a ruptured achilles. The 10-time All Star averaged 26 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game for the Golden State Warriors last season.
Meanwhile, the Knicks spent much of their cap space on a plethora of power forwards, most notably former Lakers and Pelicans forward Julius Randle. The 24-year old is coming off a career-year in New Orleans, where he posted 21.4 points per game last season to go along with 8.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per night.
In addition to Randle, the Knicks signed Brooklyn-native Taj Gibson (two years, $20M) and Bobby Portis (two years, $31 million).