NBA News Roundup, Saturday, April 27th: Kevin Durant looks certain to join the Knicks, Jimmy Butler to stay in Philly and more
The 2019 NBA Playoffs are currently the talk of the basketball world, although there is no shortage of other stories emerging from around the league.
Teams are preparing for busy offseasons, and a number of the league's leading stars continue to be linked with trades. So, here are the biggest NBA news stories and rumors you need to know for April 27th.
Kevin Durant expected to join the Knicks
Kevin Durant is currently looking to win his third straight NBA Championship with the Golden State Warriors, although his long-term future with the team remains in doubt. Durant will become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and ESPN's Ian Begley is reporting that many around the league expect KD to join the New York Knicks this summer:
If they can do what many around the NBA expect them to -- sign two stars this summer and draft an elite college prospect in late June -- they might be able to back up that rhetoric.
It's easier to find street parking in Manhattan than it is to find an NBA executive, player or coach who doesn't think Durant is going to sign with the Knicks in July.
Some of Durant's former teammates think it's going to happen, per ESPN sources. Several of his current teammates have told friends that they think it's going to happen, sources said. Opposing agents believe it's a fait accompli: "Just a matter of putting pen to paper," is how one agent of another top free agent in the 2019 free agent class put it.
Reports in recent months have suggested that Durant is desperate to lead his own team, and there is no doubting that the Knicks would provide him with this platform. Nevertheless, the Warriors are still likely to do everything in their power to pursuade Durant to stay.