New York Knicks: Walt Frazier critical of Kevin Durant joining Golden State Warriors

New York Knicks legendary point guard and color commentator, Walt Frazier, had some strong opinions about Kevin Durant.

The New York Knicks are desperate for a star to come to save the organization. It has been a long time since the glory days of New York. The last time they won an NBA championship was the 1972-73 season. Leading the team at the time was Walt Frazier.

Frazier is arguably the greatest player in the history of the Knicks. The debate really comes down to either him or Patrick Ewing. Frazier gets the edge in some debates based on the fact he led the Knicks to two championships in his tenure with the team.

Since his playing days, Clyde has remained close to the organization. He is a color commentator for the team on the MSG Network, calling games alongside Mike Breen more often than not. Frazier has been on the sidelines announcing Knicks games since the 1998-99 season.

However, if the Knicks react as the Los Angeles Clippers did with Bruce Bowen, his time with the organization could be coming to an end.

Bowen was a Clippers game analyst but did not have his contract renewed for this upcoming season. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Bowen was not retained because of critical comments made about Leonard. The Clippers, one of the teams that are hopeful to land Leonard in the future, decided Bowen speaking poorly of Leonard was a bad reflection on the organization and that a change needed to be made.

Bowen has nowhere near the same connections to the Clippers as Frazier has to the Knicks. However, the situations are similar. Frazier didn’t make remarks about Leonard, instead, providing some critical analysis of Kevin Durant.

The Knicks are hopeful to be in the running in 2019 for Durant’s services during free agency. New York has a plan in place, according to Ian Begley of ESPN New York, to have enough cap space for a max free agent such as Durant.

We have seen in the past that KD takes criticism to heart. He has burner accounts to protect himself against people on social media. Frazier’s comments could very well push Durant away from the Knicks, as the legendary point guard has some pointed opinions about the Golden State Warriors superstar.

Frazier provided these comments while making an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio. Begley provided some quotes on ESPN New York.

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"“Durant, I mean, as great a player as he is, I would still hold back because, man, he joined a team that really didn’t need him. You know what I mean?” said Frazier, a television analyst for Knicks games on MSG Network. “He’s right there with LeBron [James], probably will surpass LeBron as the best player in the game soon. But for him doing that, I still don’t give him the full credit that he probably would have deserved if he stayed with [the Oklahoma City Thunder] and won a title with that team.”"

Frazier is certainly not the only person that feels this way about Durant’s free agency decision two years ago.

However, not everyone who feels that way is as prominent a figure as Frazier is. For as emotional of a person Durant comes off as, this is something that could bother him and impact his free agency decision.

Frazier did not hold back there. He was asked whether or not the decision to join the Warriors would impact his standing on the all-time list. Frazier believes Durant signing with Golden State will impact his standing, at least on his personal list.

"“He’s going to be down the list for me because of that. There will be an asterisk by his name,” he said, chuckling."

While Frazier seems to have said the asterisk part jokingly, Durant may not feel the same way. There is no denying the talent that KD has. He is a two-time NBA champion, winning the Finals MVP award both times as well. Durant also has a regular season MVP award under his belt, so the accolades are there for him to be one of the best players of all time.

While Durant will be atop plenty of team’s wish lists next offseason, he is not the only top player that could hit the market. Kyrie Irving and Jimmy Butler are two more players that could hit the open market and have been connected to the Knicks as well.

Frazier was asked about the chances the Knicks had to sign Durant, Irving or Butler. Frazier gave them so-so odds of accomplishing that.

"“Probably 50-50,” Frazier said. “You never know what these guys are thinking today. It’s not something that I would have done. I would have never joined [Jerry] West or [Bill] Russell or [Wilt] Chamberlain. I wanted to kick their butt.“It’s something that today’s players, they have this camaraderie, they want to play together. [Carmelo Anthony] going to Houston with Chris Paul, they’ve had that going on a long time that they wanted to be teammates. It’s a possibility that these guys might get together and come to New York.”"

Frazier is certainly right that times have changed. The age of AAU has given players a chance to meet and interact with each other from a young age, becoming good friends along the way. That camaraderie carries over to the NBA, as they want to continue playing with their friends at the highest level.

While Frazier didn’t have that mindset, players nowadays do. One or two of them joining New York would be a great addition for the franchise and a fanbase desperate to turn things around sooner than later.