It's looking less and less likely that the New York Knicks are going to land Kevin Durant this summer, and with that, ESPN analyst and lifelong Knicks fan Stephen A. Smith is losing hope.

Smith notes that even if the Golden State Warriors lose Durant to free agency this summer, they will be fine going forward because they still have Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green and have built a winning culture that other players would love to join.

The Knicks, on the other hand, have not made the playoffs since 2013 and have won just one playoff series since 2002. New York has also not won a championship since 1973.

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Smith says that players simply do not typically want to come and play for a franchise like the Knicks, but that if New York is able to land Durant, then that changes everything, because then players would want to join the Knicks just to team up with KD.

While Smith makes a good point, he seems to be overlooking just how severe a torn Achilles is, especially for a player who will be 31 years old in September. Durant will almost surely miss all of next season, so if the Knicks sign him to a four-year max contract, Durant will not even be on the floor for the first year, and who knows how he will look in 2020-21.

So, if the Knicks do end up losing out on the Kevin Durant sweepstakes this summer, it won't necessarily be the worst thing in the world, because they would potentially be getting damaged goods if they do sign him.