Report: Knicks may pursue DeMarcus Cousins if they don't get Kevin Durant

Golden State Warriors’ DeMarcus Cousins goes through his pregame warmup for game 6 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors at Oracle Arena on Thursday, June 13, 2019 in Oakland, Calif. less Golden State Warriors’ DeMarcus Cousins goes through his pregame warmup for game 6 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors at Oracle Arena on Thursday, June 13, 2019 in ... more Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close Report: Knicks may pursue DeMarcus Cousins if they don't get Kevin Durant 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

What will the New York Knicks do if they don't get Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant to sign with the team in free agency?

Easy – they may try to sign Warriors' center DeMarcus Cousins instead, according to a report from New York Times NBA writer Marc Stein.

Stein tweeted on Wednesday evening that, "The Knicks are weighing the prospect of extending a considerable one-year offer to Warriors free-agent big man DeMarcus Cousins if they miss out on top target Kevin Durant, league sources say."

For most of the 2018-19 season, there have been whispers that Durant is thinking of signing with the Knicks during 2019 free agency, and even clamors from Knicks faithful for him to sign with the team. Durant opted out of his contract with the Warriors on Wednesday and will become an unrestricted free agent.



There are several teams vying to sign Durant, including the Warriors, so it's not a sure thing that he'll sign with the Knicks, who are reportedly going to pursue several big-name free agents, such as Kyrie Irving and Kawhi Leonard.

And, according to Stein, their backup plan if they don't any of those top-tier NBA stars is to try to sign other stars to short-term deals.

Cousins shocked the basketball world when he signed a one-year deal with the Warriors during the 2018 off-season, creating the first starting lineup made up entirely of NBA All-Stars in over 40 years. He made $5.3 million with the Dubs in 2018-19, and the most the team can offer him under the NBA's collective bargaining agreement is $6.4 million if they want to re-sign him. This means that another team could easily make him a larger offer than the Warriors if they want to sign him.

But Warriors swingman Andre Iguodala told reporters on CNBC that none of the Warriors will sign with the Knicks, so we'll see what happens. NBA free agency starts on June 30.

Drew Costley is an SFGATE editorial assistant. Email: drew.costley@sfgate.com | Twitter: @drewcostley