At a Puma event in Brooklyn, Jalen Rose told Ian Begley of SNY.tv that Kevin Durant was ‘really considering' signing with the New York Knicks in free agency. He even mentioned that Durant was almost the ‘lead recruiter' for them.

A point that Rose made was that things changed after Durant got injured and then Kyrie Irving became the ‘lead recruiter.' The Nets didn't even know that Durant was signing with them until he announced his decision on Instagram and the Knicks were ‘in the conversation.'

“So the Knicks, of course you want to sign (Kevin Durant), of course you want to sign Kyrie (Irving). And (Durant) even talked about, he was really considering the team (the Knicks) and then he was almost the lead recruiter. To the point where when he got injured, Kyrie became the lead recruiter. And ultimately, he ended up with the Nets. They didn't know he was coming, he announced it on IG (Instagram). The Knicks were in the conversation.”

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At his own admission, Durant said that he considered signing with the Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers, and the Golden State Warriors before he ultimately chose to sign with the Nets. The professionalism of the organization and the team culture played key roles in Durant's decision in free agency.

While the Knicks were expecting to sign Durant and Irving, they ultimately decided to pivot and sign veterans like Julius Randle to short-term deals after missing out on both star players. They are not expected to be a playoff team in 2019-20 but adding veterans was a step in the right direction.