Kristaps Porzingis was seen by many as the evolved version of Dirk Nowitzki, but who knew how literally that concept would be applied? The onetime New York Knicks savior is now a member of Dirk’s Dallas Mavericks after a blockbuster deal one week before the 2019 trade deadline.
The trade sends Porzingis, Trey Burke, Courtney Lee, and Tim Hardaway Jr. to Dallas in exchange for disgruntled point guard prospect Dennis Smith Jr., Wesley Matthews, DeAndre Jordan, and a future first-round pick (but not one before 2021).
In trading Hardaway and Lee, the Knicks also cleared more than $31 million in cap space for this summer, when Kevin Durant and many others are free agents. Their motivation for this trade is clear. Dallas, meanwhile, found Luka Doncic a potential co-star, though there is much risk involved given Porzingis’ injury history.
The trade came minutes after news broke about Porzingis expressing his displeasure with the organization in a meeting with management. That beef goes back to the Phil Jackson era, and evidently the Scott Perry-led regime hadn’t done enough to alleviate it.
By the way, Porzingis has not played this season due to a torn ACL and probably won’t return for some time, if at all, this year. He’s also a restricted free agent this summer and is making noise about taking the qualifying offer so he can become an unrestricted free agent in 2020. New York decided to trade him instead of dealing with that potential situation. What will Dallas do?
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How the Kristaps Porzingis trade gives the Knicks a chance to sign 2 superstars
Brad Penner-USA TODAY SportsThe Knicks pulled off a shell-shocker of a trade, agreeing to deal rising (but injured) forward Kristaps Porzingis to the Mavericks on Thursday. In doing so, they have paved the way for not just one, but two max free agents to sign in New York this summer, when several high-profile All-Stars will hit the open market.
New York was able to detonate their payroll because of the other players involved in the trade. The Knicks included both Tim Hardaway Jr. and Courtney Lee in the deal, according to The New York Times’ Marc Stein. The two players were due $30.3 million combined over the 2019-20 season. In exchange, New York received young point guard Dennis Smith Jr., as well as veterans Wesley Matthews and DeAndre Jordan. They will also receive two future first-round picks, though Atlanta owns Dallas’ 2019 top-5 protected first-round selection
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