NBA: 5 huge questions after Kevin Durant’s Achilles injury

What should the Knicks do?

Kevin Durant has a player option for next season, so he could theoretically opt-in, however that would still be quite surprising despite everything that has transpired over the last few hours. Nevertheless, assuming that Durant moves forward with opting out and entering free agency, what should the New York Knicks do?

Should Durant still be the Knicks’ No. 1 option heading into free agency, even though there’s a good likelihood that he will miss all of next season? After missing out on the No. 1 pick, the Knicks can’t really afford to swing and miss in free agency. They have the No. 3 pick to build on, but RJ Barrett certainly won’t have the impact that a Zion Williamson could have.

That’s why it was so important for the Knicks to position themselves for Durant. And they did that almost perfectly. However, the Knicks really have to weigh the positives and negatives of offering an injured Durant that type of money.

An Achilles injury is not ideal. Even less so for 7-footers, which Durant is whether he wants to admit it or not. The Knicks have a big decision to make over the next few weeks.