When Kevin Durant becomes a free agent on July 1, the Knicks will put the full-court press on the two-time NBA Finals MVP.
But the recruiting actually already has begun.
[RELATED: Kevin Durant happy to be 'good teammate' in shadow of Steph Curry's big night]
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The Warriors will play the Knicks on Friday night in in New York, and there's a new billboard near the entrance to Madison Square Garden that might catch Durant's eye. It depicts KD holding the Larry O'Brien Trophy with Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis by his side.
As Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes:
It also features the hashtag #KDNY2019, and is in the same location a billboard went up last season recruiting LeBron James. Both billboards were paid for by NYCADSCO.com.
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A couple things to remember:
1) Durant's agent/business partner/close friend, Rich Kleiman, is a life-long Knicks fan and is serious about wanting to "run the Knicks" one day. As a guest on The Bill Simmons Podcast back in March, Durant defended Kleiman, saying: "I think he could run the Knicks better than anybody who has ever run the Knicks."
2) In August -- when discussing the top players of all time -- Knicks legend and current TV broadcaster Clyde Frazier said: "Durant, as great a player he is, I would still hold back because man, he joined a team that really didn’t need him ... there will be an asterisk by his name." Kleiman's response on Twitter: "Damn Clyde" with the eyeball emojis.
There's also this interesting anecdote:
Friday night at MSG should be a whole lot of fun ...
Drew Shiller is the co-host of Warriors Outsiders. Follow him on Twitter @DrewShiller