Durant, rejecting the Knicks, made him a Garden villain. But he added more fuel to the fire when he said “The Knicks aren’t good” shortly after joining the Nets.
Durant clarified the statement from five years ago, saying he could have embellished it.
“At the time, the Knicks weren’t cool, but they’re a cool brand,” Durant explained. Like when the Knicks play right now. They’re exploding. They’re probably doing well in their later years.”
But when he evaluated his decision during free agency in 2019, he saw a Knicks team in trouble and without stability. The Nets, on the other hand, were on the rise after reaching the playoffs the previous season.
“I’m not looking at cool branding outside of the game,” Durant said. “I was watching the team. And the team wasn’t a good one to play for. The team wasn’t pretty to look at. It wasn’t a good team to watch. Maybe I embellished it a little.
But yeah, sure, the Knicks brand [is cool]. As if New York were New York. Living in New York really made me realize that it is the most beautiful city in the world.”