NBA Free Agency 2019: 5 potential destinations for Kyrie Irving

2. New York Knicks

When the New York Knicks sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks at the trade deadline to salary-dump Tim Hardaway Jr. and Courtney Lee, they likely did so with Irving in mind.

“In my discussions with rival team executives, I’ve heard from many more who praise the trade — believing the Knicks must have some promising inside information about their ability to lure the likes of [Kevin] Durant and Irving — than from those questioning how much the Knicks received in return,” Marc Stein of the New York Times reported in early February. He added “the threat of the Knicks’ persuading Durant to leave…has never felt more real to the Warriors themselves.”

The Knicks’ trade-deadline shakeup gave them enough salary-cap space to hand out two max contracts this summer. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith recently said there’s a “95 percent chance” that Durant and Irving team up in New York, although those comments came before Durant suffered an Achilles injury in Game 5 of the NBA Finals that throws his free-agent outlook into question.

“From everything that I’ve been hearing over the last few days, Kyrie Irving is heading to New York City,” Smith said on a mid-May episode of First Take (via Nick Goss of NBC Sports Boston). “Kyrie Irving is heading to Madison Square Garden with Kevin Durant. People in his inner circle are trying to bring the Nets into the mix, but clearly New York is the destination. The likelihood is that it will be MSG.”

The Knicks did acquire a young point guard, Dennis Smith Jr., in the Porzingis trade, which raises questions about his long-term future in New York if Irving does sign there in free agency. In all likelihood, the Knicks would attempt to package Smith with some of their other young players and future draft picks to land a third star via trade, such as New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis or Washington Wizards 2-guard Bradley Beal.

Unless the Knicks do have Durant or another superstar free agent in the bag, there’s no reason for Irving to leave a contender in Boston for a 17-win team in New York. But the Knicks could theoretically build a Big Three out of thin air this summer, which puts them in the conversation for Irving and other top stars.