Knicks, Durant may have had “secret meeting” and have “endorsement deals already ironed out”

The Knicks’ very un-secret pursuit of Kevin Durant may be even more un-secret than we could have possibly imagined.

The Knicks’ next big event of the offseason is spending their top-three pick on June 20 at the draft, but, with all due respect to RJ Barrett or Ja Morant, a lot of the focus around the Knicks is now turning to 6 p.m. on June 30 and Kevin Durant.

Just how far along are things, though? Well, let’s just say that the rumors of Durant getting his own TV show on MSG Networks don’t really seem far-fetched at all, if a new report from Newsday’s Steve Popper is for real:

For now it is all speculation, but there were anonymous whispers asking if it was true that the Knicks and Durant had already held a secret meeting, that a handshake deal was already in place and that endorsement deals were already ironed out.

Yowza. So why — other than a TV show, lifetime front row tickets to all JD and the Straight Shot concerts, a signed guitar from Eagles frontman Glenn Frey (RIP) and the building the Knicks play in being renamed “Madison Square Garden... WITH NO SNAKES IN IT! NONE!” — would Durant want to leave the presumably title-bound Warriors?

But one front office executive said that Durant has been unhappy with the prodding from Steve Kerr and the feeling that he never can be — no matter how great he performs and how many individual honors he compiles — the centerpiece of a team that holds Steph Curry in the hearts of the franchise.

That basically checks out with things that we’ve heard before — that Durant, even if he wins a third straight title with the Warriors, is inclined to head to the Knicks because he wants to have a team that’s “his” and a fanbase that embraces him. Not really sure what the “prodding” from Steve Kerr is all about, but hey, whatever it takes to get Durant in orange and blue. It also helps that New York is the media capitol of the world and Durant is a venture capitalist whose business just opened a new office in New York earlier this year.

No matter what, it’s going to be a long 42 days until June 30. Buckle up, because the rumor mill’s just getting started.