Of course the Knicks are building a team that would have been terrifying 4 years ago

Good morning. One more day until your man Tom returns. Less than 24 hours until the free-agent frenzy begins. Let’s basketball!

CONCRETE JUNGLE WHERE (OLD) DREAMS ARE MADE OF: It looks like the Knicks will sign Joakim Noah to join Derrick Rose and Carmelo Anthony. Tim Bontempts of the Washington Post reports that the deal is “almost certainly” done and will be for around $18 million a season. Eighteen million a season for a player who shot under 40 percent around the basket? You bet. Welcome to this year’s free agent frenzy!

Other reporters have been more conservative about calling this signing, but all agree the Knicks are the heavy, heavy favorites to sign Noah. As Posting and Toasting notes, the operative question isn’t the money on the contract, it’s the years. Nevertheless, it’s amusing that two years after Melo spurned Chicago, the Knicks are bringing Chicago to him.

TODAY IN KEVIN DURANT: His meeting schedule is set. The Thunder still appear to be in the lead, and don’t assume Durant will only sign a one-year contract. The Warriors still have KD dreams and appear eager (perhaps too eager) to trade Andrew Bogut to help clear cap space, per CSN Bay Area. Via Dan Woike of the Orange County Register, the Clippers plan to sell Durant on playing with all three of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, which would force KD to take a big pay cut. (They could also sign-and-trade one of those three, but that’d require Durant to sign at least a three-year contract.)

*THINKING FACE EMOJI*: The Al Horford sweepstakes are getting interesting. The latest: Oklahoma City, which doesn’t have close to enough cap space right now, is hoping to clear money to pair Horford with Kevin Durant. They’d have to shed Kyle Singler and Enes Kanter to do so at a minimum, but in this free-agent climate, there are plenty of safe landing spots to send them. This only proves the new rule of free agency: Secure the free agent and THEN create the cap space, not the other way around.

SPEAKING OF HORFORD: The Pistons traded Jodie Meeks to the Magic for basically nothing, clearing his $6.5 million salary off the books. Now, Detroit could open up $20-25 million in cap space by renouncing the right free agents. As such, the Pistons are reportedly pushing for a meeting with Horford. Horford and Andre Drummond with those wings would be scary for opponents.

AND SPEAKING OF OTHER RUMORS: There are about 700 other intriguing ones in Zach Lowe’s must-read free agency preview.

SAVE YOUR FAVORITE CANDY: In a must-read feature, Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck surveys several executives who believe Dwight Howard shouldn’t get more than $15 million a year. Given that, our Yaron Weitzman believes Howard will be a serious bargain. I look forward to checking back on both stories when the top free agents sign and half a dozen teams are left holding a massive money bag. (Hilariously, the Rockets are STILL trying to convince Howard to stay for less than the max, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick.)

NEVER COUNT OUT PAT RILEY, BUUUTTT: You can probably count out Pat Riley in his quest to sign Kevin Durant AND keep Hassan Whiteside and Dwyane Wade. The math just doesn’t work. Also, Wade and Whiteside don’t appear to be in the mood to delay their free agencies to help the Heat concoct creative solutions. Wade is even sending feelers to the Mavericks and Spurs. As I wrote yesterday, this all feels like a leverage ploy.

INTERESTING: Per SportsNet: The Thunder offered Serge Ibaka to the Raptors for Cory Joseph, Norman Powell, Patrick Patterson and the No. 9 pick. Toronto declined. I agree with that decision.

ALSO INTERESTING: Jimmy Butler admits that he “knew” that he and Derrick Rose could no longer be teammates.

PLEASE MAKE THIS HAPPEN: The Sixers are interested in making a run at Dion Waiters, according to Philly.com. However, they’re worried about Waiters’ focus if he returns home to Philly.

BETTER SIXERS NEWS: Dario Saric, the team’s second lottery pick in 2014, confirms that he’s coming over to play next year.

SAM SPEAKS: ESPN’s Jordan Brenner tagged along with Sam Hinkie on a scouting trip, planned to write a long feature about it ... and then Hinkie got fired. The resulting story is fascinating, if perhaps a little too sympathetic to Hinkie.

WE ALL WANT TO CHANGE THE (BASKETBALL) WORLD: Interesting piece by Shoals on why the Warriors’ status as basketball revolutionaries was always overstated. If you think this is piling on after they lost Game 7 of the Finals, read the actual piece closer. Shoals isn’t saying the Warriors’ impact on basketball history is negligible. He’s simply saying that they weren’t ushering in a replicable new way to play the game all by themselves.

WONKY, BUT WEIRD: Because of the hyper-specific over-36 rule in the CBA, LeBron James can’t actually get a full five-year maximum contract next season.

DUNK ON ME NOW: Celtics draft pick Jaylen Brown posterized a kid at a team-sponsored clinic because the kid said said Ben Simmons is better. I agree with the kid. Let me go find a hoop to stand under.

HE’S A BARGAIN NOW: Paul Millsap is actually terrible at Pop-A-Shot. Good thing that’s not his day job.

HMMM: Interesting story by Gabriella Levine of Excelle Sports on Brittney Griner and others being annoyed at the media focus on Griner’s off-court relationship with ex-spouse Glory Johnson. On the one hand, I have sympathy for Griner and Johnson, who are just trying to move on. On the other hand, this utopian world she and others speak of where we only care about the actual games is unrealistic. Sports is never simply about tall humans firing an orange sphere into a 10-foot basket. We have to attach greater meaning to these games because that’s why we care. Hopefully Griner and Johnson (and us) can continue to move forward.

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