The Beat | Knicks Reporter Stefan Bondy Talks Kevin Durant, Zion Williamson Trade, and Madison Square Garden Moving

The New York Knicks have been the worst team in the NBA this year, but there is a possible ray of hope on the horizon in the form of signing Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in free agency and/or drafting Zion Williamson No. 1 overall. New York Daily News Knicks reporter Stefan Bondy spoke with us about those possibilities, the Kristaps Porzingis situation, why Madison Square Garden might be forced to move and the possibility of the Knicks trading Williamson for Anthony Davis.

Brian Giuffra: Hey Stefan, thanks for taking some time to chat with us about the Knicks. It feels like the biggest thing surrounding them right now is the Kristaps Porzingis situation. What’s your feeling on what happened there?

Stefan Bondy: Listen, it’s obviously a very dicey, very sensitive situation. On that particular topic, I think it’s best for everybody to wait for all the facts to come out. Right now it seems to be a mudslinging contest between two parties. When you have charges as serious as these are, it’s never good. Obviously, if Porzingis did not do it, there are lessons for him to learn about how to conduct himself and who he associates himself with. And if he did do what he’s charged with, he should not be playing in the NBA. A lot has to come out in that situation, and I’m going to wait until all the facts are out before I start talking about that one.

Giuffra: That makes sense. But we do now know the Knicks knew of the allegations. Do you think that played a role in them wanting to trade him? Or do you think they wanted to trade him regardless?

Bondy: No. I think, from my understanding, the Knicks were not totally sold on Porzingis as their franchise star and were pretty eager to trade him. The relationship between the franchise and the star was strained and had been that way for some time. And I think they were looking to part ways.

The trade, on the surface, doesn’t look good. I mean, you’re trading your franchise player, your star, a guy they had been pumping up as a future MVP and all this stuff, and they basically trade him for cap space and two draft picks. But, if they get Kevin Durant and they get Kyrie Irving, it’s a good trade. So it’s a wait-and-see thing. Plus, in regards to Porzingis, he has this trial situation hanging over his head, well, it’s not a trail, but you have these allegations and the injury and you don’t know how it’s going to come back and play. Me personally and knowing him, I think he will come back and be a superstar in this league.

Giuffra: You brought up Durant. What’s your feeling on Durant, what have you heard, do you think he winds up with the Knicks this offseason?

Bondy: Talking to a lot of people around the league, they think Durant is leaving Golden State, and the prevailing sense is he will be going to the Knicks. Now, I think a lot of that is coming from people who are close to him, but obviously Durant has the right to change his mind. Talking to other people, it’s Durant doesn’t really know what he wants yet. So I think a lot has to play out here. The Golden State Warriors have to go through the playoffs, they still have a lot of basketball to play. You know, Durant can be fickle. My guess right now is he will be playing for the Knicks next year, but a lot of that is subject to change.

Giuffra: If Durant doesn’t go to the Knicks, who are they targeting after him?

Bondy: Well, Kyrie Irving is obviously a guy on their radar. Below him there’s Kemba Walker and Kawhi Leonard. I think Klay Thompson is not a target simply because he’s either going to re-sign in Golden State or go to the Lakers, and I think he’s going to re-sign in Golden State. But once you get past a certain point, it gets dicey. Do you want to throw max contract dollars at Jimmy Butler? Do you want to throw max contract dollars at Kemba Walker? Do you want to throw max contract dollars at Tobias Harris? I think once past that first level, I think the Knicks will have to decide if it’s worth spending the money on those guys or it’s worth punting until the summer of 2020 and save their money.

Giuffra: Is Kemba Walker plan B for the Knicks if they don’t get Durant and Kyrie? And let me walk that back. Do you think Durant and Kyrie only happens if they both come? Or do you think Durant would come without Kyrie?

Bondy: I think Durant would come without Kyrie. But I also think Kyrie and Durant have become close and that they do want to and maybe are planning to play together. I don’t know that for certain, but they have become close, and I could certainly see a situation where they will come to the same team that has enough cap space to sign two max free agents. But listen, Kemba Walker, there can be a good debate over whether it’s better to have Kemba Walker or Kyrie Irving. Kyrie Irving obviously has his flaws. He’s a moody type of guy, you have to worry about how he’s going to handle a big market like New York and whether he’s ever going to be happy. You know, he was on the Cleveland Cavaliers, they adjusted, went to the NBA Finals, won a championship and he decided he didn’t want to be there. If he leaves Boston, you have to wonder where he’s going to be happy. I think Kemba Walker is a standup personality and a good player. There’s something to be desired on the defensive end and you have to wonder why he didn’t get to the next level in Charlotte. But if Kemba Walker is on the table and the Knicks have to decide whether it’s Kemba Walker or Kyrie Irving, I think that’s a good debate.

Giuffra: So you do see Kemba as a plan B?

Bondy: Yeah, because they do need help. They have Dennis Smith Jr. and they like him. I don’t think Frank Ntilikina is in the future plans. But, it would be nice to have a superstar point guard. It’s been a long time since the Knicks had a superstar point guard.

Giuffra: Yeah, might have to go back to Walt Frazier for a real superstar one.

Bondy: Yeah, I mean, listen, they had Mark Jackson, they had Rod Strickland, but I think a guy like Kyrie Irving is on another level.

Giuffra: Do you think James Dolan would realistically sell this team?

Bondy: I’m going to be honest, I don’t know. I’ve heard what everyone else has heard, that he’s setting up two business, you know, the Garden, the entertainment side and the sporting side, and that could theoretically pave the way for him to sell the team because it makes it easier to unload the shares. But I’ve also heard from financial insiders that that has nothing to do with selling the team. He’s making it so he has more money to spend on his other ventures he’s focused on right now, which is building an arena in London and building an arena in Vegas, so that has more to do with those venture than selling the team.

You know Dolan, he obviously doesn’t like being criticized. He doesn’t like people coming up to him in public and saying, sell the team. He’s very sensitive about a lot of things and for some reason the Knicks trigger him. So could I see a situation where he says, enough of this, I’m done with the headache, I want to sell the team, I can get $6 billion for this franchise? Yeah, I can see a situation like that.

Giuffra: Would he be more willing to sell the team if he got a Kevin Durant? We’ve seen it with LeBron how he could change the value of a franchise, so theoretically their value would go up even more with Durant.

Bondy: I don’t know how much more the Knicks can go up in value. They’ve been the worst team in the NBA over the last 20 years. They’ve paid the most luxury tax in the NBA over the last 20 years. And yet they’re worth more money than any NBA team in the league, so I don’t know that Durant can make them that much more valuable. But you know, he’s got a great arena, Madison Square Garden, and it’s a great location.

There are some issues moving forward with the location though and there are things to monitor. The lease is up on top of Penn Station and there has been some movement from the government to make sure Madison Square Garden will no longer be on top of Penn Station. And then you have different issues about whether or not Dolan would sell the team. But I don’t think Durant coming would sway him to sell the team. If anything, it would be the opposite because then he would be regarded as kind of a hero for finally bringing in a star player.

Giuffra: What about Zion? Are the Knicks banking on getting Zion?

Bondy: Banking on it is relative. They’d love it. But there’s only a 14 percent chance so I doubt they can bank on it. It’s typical Knicks that the year they finally really know how to tank is the year that the NBA changes the lottery rules so it’s not so advantageous to be the worst team in the league. But I think they would love to have him.

The interesting debate is, if they did get that No. 1 pick, and if they did bring Durant in, would they then trade Zion Williamson for Anthony Davis, because certainly New Orleans would love that trade. So that would be the interesting question if they do get the No. 1 pick and find out that Kevin Durant was coming to New York.

Giuffra: That’s interesting because my next question was, would they trade the No. 1 pick?

Bondy: It’s too early to say. I think they need to get the No. 1 pick first. But if Kevin Durant comes to New York, and he’s 30 years old already, he has a short window and he’s trying to win a championship. Right now, I think he’s the best player in the NBA with LeBron James on the downside. So you want to maximize the time you have with Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis is more ready to contribute to a winner than Zion Williamson. At the same time, if you trade for Anthony Davis, you’re taking on another max contract and it would make it more difficult, although still possible, to bring in a guy like Kyrie Irving this summer. So there’s a lot of things to factor this summer. I’ve told people this is the biggest summer for the Knicks since at least 2010 when they were chasing LeBron James. So it’s huge, huge for this franchise.

Giuffra: What are your takeaways from this season?

Bondy: One thing, obviously this season was a total waste, but one thing that might be a little concerning is the lack of identity in terms of David Fizdale. Because he’s obviously the coach moving forward, but what kind of identity did he establish in the short time with the Knicks so far? And the answer is, on the court, there is no identity. Now you have to give him some leeway because he didn’t have good players. But you wanted to see more from the Knicks this season and you didn’t get it.

Giuffra: Would that scare off free agents?

Bondy: No. I don’t think that’s too much of an issue. I think free agents understand, especially the superstar free agents, they understand they’re going to be winning and losing the games and the coach has very little to do with that often. Also, coaches can be replaceable too, especially if you have enough star power leverage. So I think on the list of free agent priorities, when they’re deciding on a destination, coaches are not near the top.