NEW YORK—Insisting that he could easily lure several free agents into giving up their hopes for a championship, Knicks president Steve Mills confirmed Tuesday that he was confident the team had the requisite cap space to ruin two or three promising careers this offseason. “After making moves at the trade deadline to position ourselves, we are poised to sign at least two franchise players who will squander the prime of their careers here,” said Mills, who noted that the 2019 free agency class was “absolutely loaded” with superstar players that could blow out their knees, feud with the front office, or languish in a coaching system that doesn’t fit their talents. “If we play our cards right, we might even be able to convince three marquee players to take a pay cut, surround them with marginal talent, then have them wallow in the dregs of the Eastern conference for the next half decade and never return to their former levels. And with our promising position in the 2019 NBA draft, we might even be able to destroy the career of a highly touted college prospect along with them.” At press time, Kevin Durant was considered a leading contender to be signed and then traded away for extra cap space in 2022.

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