If you weren’t fully convinced that the New York Knicks were in tank mode, this should do it for you.
In a trade that shocked the entire NBA, the Knicks traded their franchise player, Kristaps Porzingis, to the Dallas Mavericks in a seven-player deal.
Along with Porzingis, the Knicks also send Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee and Trey Burke to the Mavs for Dennis Smith Jr. DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews and two future first round picks.
The move, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, came after Porzingis had a meeting with Knicks management and left them with the impression that he wanted to be traded. Porzingis, like many Knicks fans at this point, doesn’t fully buy in to what the team is trying to do.
The Knicks get Jordan and Matthews in part of the trade. The two have expiring contracts that the team will eat for the remainder of the season. The real gem is Smith Jr., a young 2017 draft pick who the Knicks had eyed in their draft selection but went with Frank Ntilikina. Now they have both young stars to hopefully entice superstars to come play for them next season.
Outside of that, this trade baffles me. The Knicks were so keen about retaining who they drafted and keeping them long term, yet trade the only bright spot on the team away for cap space. The point was to clear space in order to sign two players to max contracts. If any superstar wants to play for the Knicks, I really don’t see what they see in the team. Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard and Anthony Davis are the biggest stars to be up for free agency this summer and I don’t think after this trade that any of these four players will end up in New York.
What do you think about the trade? Was it good or bad? Leave a comment below on what you think.
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