It was a nightmare. It didn’t make sense. Woj, Ramona Shelburne and whomever else had to have been getting their information from incorrect sources. It can’t be that a 23-year-old up-and-coming star, who missed this whole season and 30% of his career games actually be “upset with the teams direction?†Then have the audacity to want out? It can’t be that a player who admittedly has a good stretch to start the season last year, but other than that has nothing else to his resume other than an All-Star appearance can and on his rookie deal, demand a trade and have a say in the organization?! This really does not add up at all.
How did we get here?
Over the last 4 years, the Knicks (after draft night) embraced the Latvian Snake and really thought of him as one of our own. He was the best draft pick since the great Patrick Ewing, he made us not mind Melo’s downfall as much, he was the only silver lining of Phil Jackson’s tenure here in New York. He did not embrace us back.
When Porzingis posted his Clippers tweet with emojis back in 2017, we believed he got hacked. He skipped his exit meeting with Phil and Hornacek, we blamed the coaches and Phil. When Phil, smartly, wanted to trade him to Boston potentially ending up with Jaylen Brown, Jason Tatum and Brooklyn’s pick, a perfect trade, which very few fans wanted, Phil got fired. Then we went all in with the often injured KP. And throughout the past 12 months where he has been rehabbing his ACL , we stuck by him and crowned him the King of New York when he was all along just a jester.
Kristaps Porzingis will go down as the most hated Knick of all time. He has done absolutely nothing on the court to come close to making any demands. He was the hot girlfriend that you had for 4 years but wasn’t always there for you. You still loved her because she was so damn hot, but she was cheating on you the whole time. Good riddance Kristaps.
I have never seen fans so upset a player. When Lebron left, it was after 7 years of playoffs and a Finals appearance. But Cleveland’s inability to get another star was their downfall. When Durant left, he won the MVP award. He took the to the playoffs every year and he made the Finals with them. He eventually just wanted a easy few rings, but at least he wanted to win. Porzingis, he played less than 200 games in 4 years and just walks away disgruntled. This may go down as one of the worst days in franchise history.
Grading the Trade
We assume that when a team trades a superstar, the team that trades the star player usually loses the trade. That has not been the case recently. Take a look at the recent trades that had superstars involved:
- Jimmy Butler x2 – Minnesota definitely did not win that trade being that they had to trade him a year later and the jury is still out on Philly.
- Kawhi – It was a pretty even trade and both teams seemed to have done well but it may have been just a one year renta.
- Paul George- At that time, OKC fleeced them, however, Oladipo and Sabonis turned Indy into a top 5 Eastern Conference team
- Dwight – No one seemed to have won that trade at all.
- Kyrie – If Kyrie leaves, that also goes down as a trade that did not help anyone at all.
- Boogie – Sacramento is on the rise and New Orleans got 1 year out of Cousins. Not exactly a win.
Most of these moves ended up being better for the team that traded the star player.
Yes, KP is younger than these guys, but he simply did not want to be here.
Could the Knicks have gotten more?
Usually, when trade a young talented player under contract, you get either a superstar in their prime or get some serious young assets/draft capital in return. The Knicks got neither.
The draft picks will likely be in the 20 range so it really is the luck of the draw at that point as well as very far away. They could attach these picks to a future trade, maybe.
Dennis Smith Jr., whom most wanted in the draft, doesn’t seem to be the Point Guard of future. It will be interesting to see what he can do at the Garden. But, they could have been acquired for much much less.
At least they cleared up all this cap space. But I ask myself, “can I trust Steve Mills and Scott Perry to utilized this cap space properly?†After all, they were the ones who were part of management that gave these horrible contracts out. This has to be running through all of our minds. The front office has not attracted a great free agent ever and has constantly handed out bad deals. If they fail to land Durant and someone else, this becomes a fire-able offense.
Any Silver Lining?
If the Knicks miraculously land KD and Kyrie or really any sort of KD combo, this will be an amazing trade and we will quickly forget about Porzingis. If the Knicks end up with Kemba and Jimmy Butler, it will be a colossal bust. They should not sign two 30-year-olds to max money. That’s exactly what they did with Amare and it will not end well.
Even if they get someone like Boogie and KD, the trade essentially becomes KP and Tim Hardaway Jr. for Boogie Cousins and two future 1st rounders. The problem will all this is that this is just wishful thinking and speculation.
DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Mathews should not even get a jersey number. They should do what they can to trade them to a contender and pile on more picks. Maybe trade them to Boston for a pick or someone like Portland? Let’s not ruin our masterful tank job.
In the time being, we have all the right to be upset and skeptical. Maybe if we land Zion, that will change things and furthermore on July 1st but it the meantime, we are pissed.