Within hours of a report emerging Kristaps Porzingis was unhappy with the Knicks, they traded him to the Mavericks. Obviously, the deal had been brewing longer than that.
But maybe not long enough.
Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated:
Porzingis fallout: Some bewilderment coming from several teams who were shocked Porzingis was available. Becoming very clear the Knicks did little in the way of league-wide canvassing for offers before moving KP to Dallas.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) February 2, 2019
New York got a good return for Porzingis – unloading Tim Hardaway Jr.'s and Courtney Lee’s onerous contracts and getting two future first-round picks, Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews.
Was it the best return New York could have gotten for Porzingis, though? If the Knicks didn’t fully explore his value around the league, they erred.
But so did other teams by not contacting the Knicks. Those bewildered teams didn’t have to wait to hear from New York. They could have proactively made offers for Porzingis.
Maybe their assets just weren’t appealing enough to New York.
And maybe they’re exaggerating or downright fabricating the Knicks’ approach.
With a projected $73 million in cap space next summer, New York is more dangerous than it has been in years. The Knicks look like a major threat to land star free agents. Several teams are incentivized to make New York look bad.
The Warriors don’t want to lose Kevin Durant to the Knicks. The Celtics don’t want to lose Kyrie Irving to the Knicks. The Pelicans don’t want Boston to fear losing Irving to the Knicks and then downgrade its offer for Anthony Davis.
Any of those teams – or others with players New York could poach – might have leaked this to make the Knicks look bad, to fuel a perception New York is still mismanaged and not worth joining. The Knicks are an easy in target.
Because reports like this are believable – which isn’t necessarily fair but speaks to years of disarray in New York.
