Report: KP deal reached before meeting

Kristaps Porzingis provided a list of four desired destinations when he requested a trade in a shotgun meeting, but the Knicks had already quietly negotiated a deal after shopping the Latvian for a month.

These details were revealed on Tuesday by the New York Times, before the Knicks lost to the Pistons, 105-92, at the Garden. The report portrayed both Porzingis and the Knicks as ready to move on from one another long before he was officially traded.

According to the story, the Knicks became aware of Porzingis’ discontent in the beginning of January – right around the time the Daily News reported his re-signing was not guaranteed because of a desire to play for a winner.

After failing to pry Donovan Mitchell out of Utah, De’Aaron Fox out of Sacramento and Anthony Davis out of New Orleans, the Knicks settled for cap space and two first-round picks from the Mavericks. According to the Times, the Knicks could’ve pulled the trigger on the trade Wednesday evening, but first wanted to hear from Porzingis in their planned sitdown on Thursday.

The meeting was a mere formality. A source told the News it lasted between two and three minutes. The Knicks wanted to pull the trigger, got the sentiment they expected and quickly the circumstances were leaked to the media. Within an hour of the meeting going public, news circulated that Porzingis was traded. The Knicks’ front office, according to a source, did not believe in Porzingis as the franchise star. It had valid reasons, too: the 23-year-old is coming off ACL surgery, struggled to stay on the court previously because of other injuries and faded in the second half of seasons.

But instead of using these concerns to justify the trade, the Knicks wanted to send the message their hands were tied by Porzingis’ malcontent and his puppeteer brother. This is from the same team that employed Carmelo Anthony’s brand manager, allowed Anthony’s agency — CAA — to influence moves, employed Amar’e Stoudemire’s security guard and gave J.R. Smith’s brother a contract because he was J.R. Smith’s brother. Whether or not Porzingis deserved superstar treatment is debatable. But it was hypocritical for the Knicks to accuse him and his brother, Janis, of being too demanding.

According to the Times, Porzingis’ list of desirable destinations included the Nets and Clippers. Dallas was not on the list.