NBA Rumors: Knicks Plan B Could Still See Kyrie Irving Coming To Gotham

The New York Knicks are expected to tweak their initial NBA free agency plans following the unfortunate injury to Kevin Durant. Originally, the Gotham City squad were believed to be determined to land KD and Kyrie Irving until that Achilles injury likely altered the course for the 2019-20 NBA wars. Pundits initially believed that pursuing Irving would be useless, but the Knicks could divert their attention to several big men to tandem with Uncle Drew instead.

According to Marc. J. Spears of the Undefeated, the Knicks are now interested in trying to get Durant's teammate, DeMarcus Cousins, instead. They reportedly also have their eyes on Markieff and Marcus Morris - moves which should help up muscle up the frontline of head coach David Fizdale. DeAndre Jordan, an acquisition via trade last season is also in play for the Knicks once the free agency period kicks off on June 30.

Of course, the Knicks are also expected to be active in pursuing other big names. Aside from Irving, names like Kawhi Leonard, Kemba Walker, Tobias Harris, and Nikola Vucevic are also on their radar. The better question, however, is how much is New York willing to spend on these high-profile free agents and for how long? According to the NY Daily News, the Knicks may punt $70 million in cap space if they are unable to land the big NBA names of their choice.

The Kevin Durant injury has obviously altered the course for the Knicks although Fizdale is likely to map out an alternative with hopes of making the Knicks more competitive compared to their woeful performance during the 2018-19 NBA season. Opting to invest in young players and the future, a different story is expected for next season with the right players in the roster.

Of the mentioned big men, Cousins and (one of) the Morris twins would make sense. Fizdale has a plethora of young players on his end and adding a veteran big man looks like a step in the right direction. Cousins is a tested veteran but there are concerns on how Boogie can fit into the Knicks' system. He is not at 100-percent so a max deal may not be entirely feasible.

Marcus or Markieff Morris could be more realistic targets. They may not be the heavy scoring forwards the NBA has to date but they do the other things any ballclub would love to have on their side. The possibility of seeing both suit up for New York is also possible - seeing how both expressed preference playing side-by-side in the past.