Knick fans —and their enablers— still in denial about Nets ‘Clean Sweep’

Knicks propaganda will not die ... but as usual facts are getting in the way of their narrative.

In his latest comments on the Nets “clean sweep” on opening night of free agency, ESPN’s Jalen Rose claimed Kevin Durant was “considering” the Knicks but his injury in Game 5 of the NBA Finals killed New York’s chances.

Speaking with reporters at a Puma event in New York, the former Knick laid out his theory, which has been embraced by Knicks fans as a way of retaining their belief that the Knicks, —despite having the NBA’s worst record since 2000— remain a marquee franchise.

“So the Knicks, of course you want to sign (Kevin Durant), of course you want to sign Kyrie (Irving). And (Durant) even talked about, he was really considering the team (the Knicks) and then he was almost the lead recruiter. To the point where when he got injured, Kyrie became the lead recruiter. And ultimately, he ended up with the Nets. They didn’t know he was coming, he announced it on IG (Instagram). The Knicks were in the conversation.”

Of course, that flies in the face of what Durant himself has said, telling reporters on Media Day,

“I thought about it for a couple seconds to see how my life would look in all of those places for a minute. But ultimately, I wanted to be here.”

Then, of course, he made himself quite clear in an interview on HOT 97. The Knicks, he said are just not cool.

“I thought about it, yeah, just a thought. But I didn’t really do any deep, full analysis on the Knicks...

“I think a lot of fans look at the Knicks as a brand and expect these younger players who, in their lifetime, don’t remember the Knicks being good. I didn’t grow up with the Knicks. I’ve seen the Knicks in the Finals, but kids coming up after me didn’t see that. So that whole brand of the Knicks to them is not as cool as, let’s say, the Golden State Warriors or even the Lakers or the Nets now.

”It’s like the cool thing right now is not the Knicks.”

Rose’s comments also fly in the face of what Frank Isola reported Saturday about the shock in the Knicks offices when Durant and Kyrie Irving signed with Brooklyn.

When free agency approached, the Knicks were optimistic that the worst season in franchise history would be saved by Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant coming to the Garden. The two marquee free agents also had other ideas and chose the Brooklyn Nets.

While the Knicks have spun this notion that they didn’t want meetings with either player — as well as Kawhi Leonard — a team source insists that management was “stunned and depressed” when they learned that Irving and Durant picked the other team in town.

Then, finally, there was Jared Dudley’s revelation Saturday that he advised D’Angelo Russell to ignore rumors that Irving was headed to Brooklyn.

“Then you had the Kyrie rumors. Those started in November, December.”

That was also around the time that Spencer Dinwiddie first believed that the Nets, not the Knicks, were in the running for both Irving and “The Monster,” as he referred to Durant.

Even Bobby Portis, signed by the Knicks in July, has said players believed early on that Brooklyn would be the two players’ final destination.

“I knew what was gonna happen in February. We all knew that (Durant and Kyrie Irving would go to Brooklyn). Everybody knew that. I just don’t think the media knew that. Us basketball players, we all knew that.”

As the Mayo Clinic notes in its section on mental health: “If you’re in denial, you’re trying to protect yourself by refusing to accept the truth about something that’s happening in your life

Hope everyone gets well.