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00:00We've just known KD would be on a new team for the longest time.
00:05We've been trying to figure out who that team is going to be.
00:07We've heard reporting from Sham Strani of ESPN.
00:10The list seemingly comprises mainly of five teams.
00:15Spurs, the Rockets, the Timberwolves, the Knicks, Miami Heat.
00:20That list is maybe shrinking as the days go on
00:25where the Knicks don't seem to feel super in the race.
00:30Minnesota seems to be gaining as the favorite,
00:32which at one point looked to be the San Antonio Spurs.
00:36There's a lot here.
00:37I'll go to you first, Tom.
00:39What do you make of the current Kevin Durant sweepstakes?
00:44I think it's a good way to put it.
00:45All right.
00:45So midseason when he declined the trade to the Warriors.
00:50Yeah.
00:50Right.
00:50My thought then, which I guess was maybe more like in the back of my mind,
00:55I'm like, okay, he declines that because the West is difficult.
00:59Right.
01:00It's just like he doesn't want to be because there's still years left on the contract.
01:02Right.
01:03It's not like he's an impending free agent.
01:05Right.
01:05So my thought was, you know what?
01:07Maybe like he doesn't want to go to the Warriors.
01:09Like the Thunder there.
01:11You know, the Timberwolves are always tough.
01:12Like Jokic is still there.
01:13It's like, yeah, maybe he just waits until after the season.
01:15Like, hey, if he can get to the East, it'll be a lot more open.
01:18And just from a winning perspective, the chance is there.
01:22Now, after the playoffs have, you know, are coming to an end, plus the Tatum news,
01:26obviously, which didn't happen back in February, the team injury, the East looks immensely open.
01:30So I'm looking at it.
01:32I'm like, hey, the East actually may be the spot to go.
01:35It was like kind of like a nugget in my brain.
01:36Like now it actually does really seem like, hey, if you want a shot to just get to the finals.
01:41I think the path forward in the East is far easier.
01:44Now, the Knicks may or may not be in there.
01:46They have enough of their own problems to worry about, coach.
01:47They need a coach.
01:49But from a money perspective, the Miami Heat makes some sense.
01:54I think that was just a fundamental from a contract perspective.
01:57I think they do.
01:57And then, you know, the Raptors are always a team in the mix for Giannis from a money perspective.
02:02I don't know if KD wants to go there, but they seem to have the puzzle piece to fit.
02:05So I would say the East is the route he should be going.
02:10And while it may fit fundamentally as Minnesota needs a score,
02:14they need a second score.
02:15I think it does fit.
02:16I don't know if like the West is the spot to stay.
02:19Well, I think one thing you have to realize, folks, is number one,
02:22Kevin Durant is going to be on an expiring contract next year.
02:25So the leverage and what Phoenix can ask in return goes marketably down.
02:32Two, why KD may not want to go to the Knicks,
02:36I honestly don't know if KD would want the pressure of going to the Knicks
02:39because it's just like the head coaching search.
02:42Because I think KD's controlling some of the narrative of where he wants to go.
02:46He already said the note to the Knicks years ago when he went to Brooklyn.
02:49I don't think Kevin Durant is a guy that wants, like I think he's,
02:55I don't want to say his ego will be bothered if he goes to New York and he fails,
02:59but it could.
03:00So I don't think that there's play.
03:02So if you're eliminating that, and then if you look at the contract of both Houston
03:09and San Antonio not giving up a ton, to me it probably makes sense that it's Minnesota
03:14because of, number one, the affinity that Ant Edwards has for him.
03:19Two, can you find contracts to move over to them?
03:23That makes more enticing to me than him going to a place like New York.
03:27Miami's intriguing, but we hear like Pat Riley's been trying to get a guy for like eight years
03:31and he hasn't got a guy.
03:32So maybe not Miami.
03:34So I, here's the, I don't, I can't tell you why the Knicks aren't the front runners.
03:43So maybe that I shouldn't then say it's definitely not about the pressure,
03:47but I can't imagine it's about the pressure.
03:49Because one, here's the thing with KD.
03:52He's a multi-time finals MVP.
03:54He's a league MVP.
03:55He's the first battle hall of famer.
03:56He's a multiple time Olympic gold medalist.
03:58I don't think the garden is going to bother him because I also think the garden would adore him.
04:03Because let's be realistic.
04:05Sorry, Jalen Brunson.
04:07Knicks fans have been dying for a player as good as Kevin Durant to put on a Knicks uniform.
04:15Go back to the decision.
04:19You want to know why?
04:20Ready a little behind.
04:21One of the reasons I'm such a LeBron guy is back when I was in high school,
04:27I was defending LeBron so much more because I went to high school in New York
04:33and no one hated LeBron more than Knicks fans because they were convinced he was going to the Knicks.
04:41They've wanted that guy forever.
04:45You thought it'd be mellow.
04:47Whoops.
04:47Stoudemire.
04:48Huh?
04:49And then you love Brunson.
04:50Everyone loves Brunson.
04:52They love Brunson so much.
04:56And again, respectfully, I think we can agree in terms of star power, status.
05:03JB is not KD.
05:04That's okay to say.
05:06When KD and Kyrie went to Brooklyn, it was a slap in the face to the Knicks.
05:12It just was.
05:12It's all there for him with Tom's incredibly accurate points about the East.
05:19Because if KD goes to the East, there will be an argument if Giannis went West.
05:26He's the best player in the conference.
05:28Not one I'd make, but I know some would.
05:30He's the best player in the world.
05:31He's the best player in the world.
05:31He's the best player in the world.
05:32He's the best player in the world.
05:32He's the best player in the world.
05:32He's the best player in the world.
05:33He's the best player in the world.
05:33He's the best player in the world.
05:34He's the best player in the world.
05:35He's the best player in the world.
05:36He's the best player in the world.
05:37He's the best player in the world.
05:38He's the best player in the world.
05:39He's the best player in the world.
05:40He's the best player in the world.
05:41He's the best player in the world.
05:42He's the best player in the world.
05:43He's the best player in the world.
05:44He's the best player in the world.
05:45He's the best player in the world.