Porzingis shift:
The Mavericks secure 7-3 forward to play alongside Luka Doncic; the Knicks position themselves for possible free agent spree.
Another shocking deal has tongues wagging in the NBA, just a week before the trade deadline and three days after Anthony Davis and New Orleans drew lines in the sand.
The Dallas Mavericks agreed on Jan. 31 to a deal with the New York Knicks to land star big man Kristaps Porzingis.
The Mavericks will send Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews to the Knicks. In addition to Porzingis, the Mavericks will receive Tim Hardaway Jr., Trey Burke and Courtney Lee. The Knicks also will get two first-round draft picks.
Porzingis, a 7-3 forward who has been sidelined since last February after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament, is 23 and has the potential to be one of the best players in the league if healthy. He was drafted fourth overall by the Knicks in 2015.
In a stunning move, the Mavericks add a talented European big man to go alongside rookie sensation Luka Doncic of Slovenia. Doncic was averaging 20.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists and is on pace to join Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson as the only rookies to average at least 20-6-5.
Doncic relishes his role as the primary ball-handler – a point forward – and the Mavericks envision a dynamic two-man game, including pick-and-rolls, with Doncic and Porzingis.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle has a great offensive mind, and it should be fun to see what he draws up for those gifted players.
Porzingis is a restricted free agent this summer, and the Mavericks have the right to match any offer from another team. Porzingis also has the option of accepting a qualifying offer and playing for Dallas in 2019-20 and becoming an unrestricted free agent after that season.
Porzingis’ time with the Knicks never amounted to what could have been. In his three seasons on the court, he averaged 17.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and showed three-point efficiency in 2017-18 before sustaining his season-ending injury. He showed flashes of turning into a star, but the Knicks never had enough talent around him.
They won 32, 31 and 29 games in his first three seasons and have the worst record in the league this season, leading to frustration. During Porzingis’ time in the Big Apple, the Knicks are on their third head coach, not including Kurt Rambis’ interim spell, and second frontoffice regime change. A split may be the best direction for both parties.
In a meeting with Knicks president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry last week, Porzingis told them he wasn’t on board with the Knicks’ plan and wanted out.
Mills and Perry acknowledged they had sensed Porzingis’ frustration and had been talking to multiple teams throughout this season. If it seems things moved quickly from a morning meeting to an afternoon trade, Perry said they had about eight or nine options and decided to engage with the Mavericks.
For the Knicks, the unexpected move has wide-ranging possibilities, most notably a significant amount of salary cap space that will allow the Knicks to offer max contracts to two bigname free agents in July.
New York could have as much as $76.4 million in salary cap space in free agency this summer, according to ESPN. Team executives around the league believe the Knicks will go after Golden State’s Kevin Durant and Boston’s Kyrie Irving in free agency. Suddenly, they have the money to do it, and players and agents around the league like Knicks general manager Scott Perry and coach David Fizdale.
Timing-wise, it’s not going to get any better for the Knicks, especially since they will have a high draft pick to select potentially Duke’s Zion Williamson or R.J. Barrett.
If Durant wins a third consecutive championship with the Warriors, it makes his departure simple and explainable. He has his titles and he can go elsewhere and build a championship contender without the stigma of joining a team with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green to win a title.
The Athletic website also noted that Durant business manager Rich Kleiman is from New York, a Knicks fan and a year ago tweeted, “Imma run the Knicks one day.” He also is connected to Knicks’ executives, including Perry, who was an assistant GM with the SuperSonics when they drafted Durant.
Knicks assistant coach Royal Ivey was Durant’s teammate with Oklahoma City, they both played college basketball at Texas and are friends.
Plus, there’s the tension between Durant and Green that might not be fully resolved. Remember, they got into a heated argument during a game this season.
Following NBA breadcrumbs sometimes leads to a dead end. Sometimes, it leads right to the answer.
As for Irving, his declaration that he will do what’s best for himself this summer, indicating it’s no guarantee he re-signs with the Celtics, shouldn’t come as a surprise.
This has been brewing since he said unprompted in the preseason that he would be back with Boston. While it sounded good, it also was calculated.
It was Irving’s attempt to get in front of the story in case it didn’t work with the Celtics or Boston didn’t offer the deal he wanted. If he left, he wouldn’t be the one to blame, and there is talk around the league that Boston isn’t willing to offer Irving a max deal because of his knee injury history.
Plus, Irving is unorthodox. After all, he’s the guy who wanted to leave Cleveland amid an NBA Finals run. If he leaves Boston, no one should be shocked.
Then, there’s the lure of Madison Square Garden. There’s a mystique of playing for the Knicks and bringing the franchise a title for the first time since 1973.
Durant, Irving, Kevin Knox, Allonzo Trier and either Williamson or Barrett on the Knicks — it seems possible and impossible at the same time.