Rumors about Kevin Durant signing with the Knicks gained momentum as he established presence in New York. But why the Knicks rather than the Nets? A tweet from his manager, Rich Kleiman, certainly colored thinking:
Imma run the Knicks one day
— Ace (@richkleiman) February 21, 2018
Of course, Durant signed with the Nets and said the Knicks weren’t cool. Durant even said if he left the Warriors, it was always going to be for the Nets (though he reportedly strongly considered the Knicks).
Durant locked in for three years with Brooklyn. He’s set there.
But how does Kleiman feel about the Knicks, who just fired president Steve Mills and are reportedly considering hiring an agent to run their front office?
Marc Berman of the New York Post:
Ian Begley of SNY:
Roger Montgomery is another agent among the group of representatives under internal consideration for New York’s front office vacancy, per SNY sources.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) February 5, 2020
I’m not sure why I should trust anonymous sources who say not to sleep on Kleiman. That isn’t even saying anything! But there you go.
It would be wild for the Knicks to hire Kleiman after Durant spurned them. But you can’t put anything past the Knicks.
Of course, they also have candidates with more front-office experience than Kleiman and Roger Montgomery – like Raptors president Masai Ujiri. Again, though, good luck guessing what direction the Knicks will go.