Kevin Durant's Move To Knicks Possible, But Only After 2020: Report

While Kevin Durant is staying with the Golden State Warriors for the short-term, his long-term future is still up for debate after signing a one-plus-one contract in the summer.

The new deal is worth $61.5 million and will essentially see Durant become an unrestricted free agent after the 2018/19 season unless he opts to use his player option to stay on with the Warriors for the 2019/20 season.

Of course, he could become a free agent again next summer and sign a new deal with the Warriors as well.

"I just want to take it a day at a time, and I don't want to look at my future now," Durant said of his new contract recently. "The [one-plus-one] was the perfect thing for me to do, to keep things open for me — financially and what I want to do. It's just one of those things."

"Just felt like that was the right thing to do for me," Durant added. "Because we know our power, know our control, want to do what’s best for us, more so than anything. I’m going to approach it like I always do. Get ready for camp, take it a day at a time."

The Warriors will obtain Durant's Bird rights next season which allows them to exceed their salary cap and offer him a five-year, $219 supermax deal.

But with the 29-year-old valuing flexibility and keeping his options open, a long-term deal even with a big payday may not entice him as rumors have sparked that he could be set for a move to the Los Angeles Lakers or the New York Knicks in 2019.

The Knicks have not made the playoffs since 2013 but will be in the market to sign the high number of free agents that are expected next year. And according to Marc Stein of the New York Times, a move to the Big Apple is not out of the picture for Durant, but it may not happen at least until 2020 for a specific reason.

"Knicks fans dreaming of a Durant signing next summer are hereby forewarned: It’s not inconceivable that he may actually choose to make Madison Square Garden home someday, but it’s extremely difficult to imagine the Silicon Valley-loving Durant doing so without playing at least one season in the Warriors’ new Chase Center palace in San Francisco, which doesn’t open until the 2019-20 campaign," Stein wrote in his newsletter, as quoted on Warriors Wire.

The Chase Center will not open until the end of the upcoming season, but when it does, it will provide the reigning champions with additional income that will contribute to keeping Durant's services, especially given their luxury taxes.

It's also conceivable that the sole reason Durant wants to play at least one season at the Chase Center is so he can get part of the supermax deal before potentially making a move elsewhere, albeit without the luxury of being a free agent.

Regardless, he is a Warrior for now, and will undoubtedly be looking for his third straight championship and Finals MVP award when the new season begins in October.