New York, after spending two years of clearing protection space to pursue free will superstar, was not interested in Jimmy Butler last summer, according to New York Post’s Marc Berman. Butler went on to sign with the Miami Heat, where he is now one game away from the NBA Finals.
New York’s terrible 2019 offseason began in earnest at that season’s commercial deadline. The Knicks took out young star Kristaps Porzingis to free up space to sign two superstar free agents. The problem? The two stars they were most attached to, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, chose to cross the bridge and sign with the Brooklyn Nets. The stories since then haven’t been flattering at all.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported soon after Durant picked Brooklyn that the Knicks were unwilling to offer the former MVP a maximum contract due to his ruptured Achilles tendon.
Soon after, Berman reported that the Knicks canceled a bout with Kawhi Leonard, who went on to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers.
In August 2020, Kemba Walker admitted that he was initially very interested in signing with the Knicks, but that interest waned when a stellar teammate did not materialize.
Some of these reports seem more realistic than others. The idea that the Knicks wouldn’t really give Durant a maximum contract, for example, seems like a PR issue. Otherwise, it was organizational neglect on a scale that would be hard to believe even by Knicks standards. There are some slight similarities to Butler. Yes, there were risks. His departures from Minnesota and Philadelphia were bad. But it’s not as if these reports came out before free will, when the Knicks apparently prepared to go after these players. They leaked after the fact, as if to send the message that the Knicks never wanted players who seemed disinterested in signing with them in the first place.
It is unclear whether Butler would have seriously considered the Knicks. When he asked the Timberwolves to trade him in 2018, he listed the Knicks as one of his favorite destinations, but it got to a point where their free agent prospects looked brighter. Then again, Butler signed with the Heat without an immediate second All-Star, so the idea of being the lone star and savior of New York may have attracted him. However, most reports have suggested that Butler chose Heat because of their culture of discipline and success story. The Knicks have none of these things. In all likelihood, Butler wouldn’t have taken the Knicks seriously if only for the fact that most superstars in recent years have not taken the Knicks into consideration, and without evidence to the contrary, it makes sense to assume he wouldn’t have trended.