By ADAM ZAGORIA
NEW YORK — As Dennis Smith Sr. got off his Delta flight from Raleigh, N.C. to the Big Apple on Sunday morning to watch his son’s first game with the Knicks, he was already imagining what his son’s new team might look like this summer.
Smith Sr. knows that the Knicks now have salary cap space for two max free agents, and he’d love to see Kevin Durant join the team this summer in free agency.
“I’m hoping so, ain’t you?” Smith Sr. said of Durant.
Asked if Smith Jr. and Durant could be a strong duo together, the father said, “I think they would. They have room for another max player, too.” The Knicks now have room for two max free agents and are eyeing a class that includes Durant and Kyrie Irving.
Durant has teased Knicks fans by not ruling them out, and he has been linked to New York along with choosing to remain in Golden State.
“That’s the future,” Smith Sr. said. “I don’t know what the future might hold.”
Last week the New York Post ran a back page featuring Durant, Kyrie Irving and Zion Williamson all in Knicks jerseys. On Sunday, Williamson said it would be “dope” to play with Durant and Irving.
Who knows who will end up on the Knicks roster for opening night in 2019-20, but for now Smith Jr. is a Knick after coming over in the huge Kristaps Porzingis trade.
The Knicks famously passed on Smith Jr. in the 2017 Draft in favor of Frank Ntilikina. Even LeBron James said Smith Jr. “should be a Knick.”
In Dallas, Smith Jr. had to contend with star rookie Luka Doncic as the main attraction. Now Knicks coach David Fizdale plans to feature him on the young and perpetually rebuilding Knicks.
Asked what his son could bring to the Knicks, Smith Sr. said, “I don’t know, man. It’s new to me, first time being traded. I’m waiting to see.”
Photo: SlamLeBron on Dennis Smith Jr. back in 2017: “He should be a Knick” ?pic.twitter.com/0UFaeIdoCU
— SNY (@SNYtv) January 31, 2019
