The Knicks have traded Kristaps Porzingis, Courtney Lee, Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. to the Mavericks for Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews and two first-round picks, both teams announced in press releases Thursday.
News of this deal comes just shortly after word broke that Porzingis had met with Knicks management to express frustration with the direction of the organization, leaving the team with the impression that he wanted to be moved. While Porzingis’ preference to be dealt may have jump-started these talks, it didn’t take the Knicks long to find a potential deal they liked, suggesting that they may not have been fully invested in the relationship either.
“As is standard for this time of year, we were exploring various options on potential trades,” Knicks general manager Scott Perry said in a statement. “Considering the uncertainty regarding Kristaps’ free agent status and his request today to be traded, we made a trade that we are confident improves the franchise.”
From the Knicks’ perspective, moving on from Porzingis by attaching two unwanted multi-year contracts to him creates some tantalizing free agent possibilities for the franchise. By replacing Porzingis’ cap hold ($17.09MM), Hardaway’s salary ($18.15MM), and Lee’s salary ($12.76MM) with Smith’s modest $4.46MM salary on the 2019/20 books, the Knicks will reduce their commitments by approximately $43.5MM, which should open up enough cap room for two maximum-salary free agents.
The Knicks’ only players with guaranteed contracts for 2019/20 are Smith, Frank Ntilikina, Kevin Knox, and Mitchell Robinson. Armed with those youngsters and a likely top-five pick, New York will enter free agency with the ability to potentially land two free agents from a group that includes Kevin Durant, Kemba Walker, Kyrie Irving, and others.
Besides creating substantial cap flexibility, the Knicks will acquire Smith, a second-year guard who wasn’t happy with his role in Dallas. The ninth overall pick in the 2017 draft, DSJ saw his responsibilities dialed back due to Luka Doncic‘s emergence this season. Smith has still built upon some of last year’s numbers, averaging 12.9 PPG, 4.3 APG, and 3.0 RPG with a .440/.344/.695 shooting line. He now appears poised to take over point guard duties in New York, a year after the team passed on him to draft Ntilikina.
New York also acquired a 2021 unprotected first-round pick and 2023 protected first-round pick (1-10) in the trade agreement, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ian Begley reported.
“We feel like we did the right thing,” Knicks president Steve Mills said, according to Begley. “When you try to think about how you want to build your team for the long term, you don’t want to commit a max (contract) to a player who clearly says to you he doesn’t want to be here.”
Jordan and Matthews, who are on pricey expiring deals, likely don’t have a future in New York. Rival executives expect the Knicks to explore the trade market over the next week for potential deals involving those veterans, according to Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link). Both Fischer and ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link) suggest that Jordan and Matthews will be intriguing buyout candidates if they’re not flipped by the Knicks.
Perry emphasized in a conference call Thursday that both Jordan and Matthews could have a positive impact on their young players for the remainder of the season, as relayed by Begley. This, of course, is provided they aren’t traded or bought out from their current deals. This statement drew a questioning response on social media from Knicks center Enes Kanter, another candidate to be traded by the deadline.
Meanwhile, the deal represents a huge swing for the Mavericks, who will pair Porzingis with Doncic with an eye toward keeping both players in Dallas for years to come. By taking on the multiyear contracts for Hardaway and Lee in exchange for Jordan and Matthews, Dallas will almost certainly give up its chance to create cap room in 2019, but will be on track to open up significant space in 2020, while Doncic is still on his rookie contract. Porzingis posted a clip of him shaking hands with Doncic after the trade became official, clearly excited for his new partnership in Dallas.
An All-Star a year ago, Porzingis averaged 22.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 2.4 BPG with a .439/.395/.793 shooting line in 48 games in 2017/18, displaying franchise-player potential. However, a torn ACL ended his season early and has sidelined him for the entire 2018/19 campaign so far. He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer, at which point he could sign his one-year qualifying offer, sign an offer sheet with another team, or negotiate a new deal directly with the Mavs.
[RELATED: Porzingis plans to tell Mavs he’ll sign qualifying offer?]
Dallas also created a $12.9MM trade exception in the agreement, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Additionally, Marks notes (via Twitter) that the two teams will have to account for Hardaway’s 15% trade bonus, which is currently worth $3.75MM. Assuming THJ doesn’t waive it, his cap hits will increase by $1.875MM annually for this season and next, and the Knicks will have to pay the bonus money.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
wow!!!!!!
The rest of the NBA trying to get over this bombshell.
Get #1 overall pick, Draft Zion, Trade for AD, sign KD.
The potential is unlimited. Knick fan sad to see KP go, but you have to separate emotion and business. I think hindsight says Knicks made a wise business decision.
What a pipe dream. Nobody wants to play for the Knicks. Cap space is irrelevant when nobody will sign. Knicks don’t have assets to get AD without porzingis and KD would never return to another dysfunctional franchise over staying with the best team on the planet. Maybe you get Irving, but who cares about that? He can’t play defense.
Your not getting ad without #1 draft pick nice thought though
After this draft they’ll have 6 over the following 4 years.
Knick draft picks have as good a value as anyone else’s if not better so for a team wanting picks who can do better if AD is traded after the draft?
Look at this objectively,
Know it’s hard for most cuz you’re either a die-hard Knick fan or you hate them.
I think Pelicans most likely wait after deadline, trade Davis in summer to get Celtics involved and know where Knicks first round pick falls.
“Objectively”…. sure, let’s try that. AD, as well as pretty much every FA wants nothing to do with the joke that is Dolan and the Knicks. Second, who would they trade that NO… or ANYBODY would want? Which brings me to my last point, what FA would want to be a part of that mess. Even IF two max FAs inexplicably wanted to play there, who would they play with to make the Knicks relevant? Just curious, since we’re going for “objective” here. Lol
Knicks fans are so delusional it’s down right embarrassing. The franchise has been a dysfunctional dumpster fire for decades. I mean, they make the Bulls and Kings look like model organizations in comparison. Knicks fans should be thoroughly disgusted and defiant over the sheer incompetence of Dolan and his lackeys, yet MSG is sold out indefinitely. Why?
Wow
WOW!
Woj Bomb
Trey Burke also believed to be involved
Omfg. The mavs are gonna get Dirk 2.0
Na thats Markannen
Lol. Can’t have a Dirk 2.0 if he doesn’t stay on the court. Yet to play a full season. Great player if healthy. Big if
They already have one..
Pelicans holding out on AD until the summer, but the Knicks send Kristaps packing 15 minutes after their meeting
Haha, exactly.
James Dolan at his finest
Not if Lakers give them an offer that can resist. Good Trade for both Trade.
NOLA is better off holding until the summer. New York, Chicago could have top three picks, plus young players to come packaged with that pick. Zion, RJ have higher ceilings than anyone the Lakers could offer.
Well that escalated quickly!
Great move by the Mavs.
I’ll have to see the final return, but this feels like another dumpster fire for the Knicks.
Essentially Knicks get cap space for 2 max contracts, 1st rd pick ,and possible PG of the future for Porzingis, Hardaway, and Lee
That’s… not very good.
Sending out your only good player for cap space to sign… who? Who wants to sign with the Dolan owned Knicks?
If this were a video game, sure, someone’s going to take their money. But now?
If they land Kyrie and Durant, this will be brilliant. If they get just one, then this will be meh.
Gives them a clean slate. They dont have to actually use the space this offseason but if they don’t land a top tier guy, they have to wait until 2021 for Giannis, Beal, Gobert, Dipo, McCollum, Lillard which isnt as good of a crop based on age. This only is a bad trade if they dont get RJ or Zion though. Ja Morant looks like a stud but will he and DSJ coincide?
lol get Giannis’ name outta there
Read the writing on the wall. Nobody is coming to the Knicks.
They can also use the cap space to make a trade
Well, if you look at their core, they have guys of the same age group, not that Porzingis is old. Smith jr, Ntilikina, Dotson, Knox, Robinson is pretty interesting, adding Trier, Kornet, Vonleh for now, and they added assets too. Assuming they add a top pick this year, Reddish or Barrett hopefully for them, then consider potential free agents, and it’s a lot more flexibility than they had yesterday
Dotson is older then Porzingis. And Kornet is the same age as Porzingis. So that’s a flawed statement. The Knicks just traded there best player for a guy who was just pouting about his role. Going to the Knicks who have 2 other young PGs as well. With a coach who hasn’t really been consistent with his rotation. So yah. Horrible trade
Lol and they got a 2nd 1st rounder as well. I think the Knicks maybe look bad if Porzingis comes back healthy and Ntilikina doesnt turn out, but Porzingis is coming off injury, and in a contract situation, while Smith is on his rookie contract, as are the bigs, and they added the multiple picks and cap space
It’s bad for the Knicks. Pretty clearly, bad.
If KP comes back healthy, this will go down as one of the dumbest trades in league history.
Add Durant and Kyrie plus a top 3 pick. It will be just fine
knicks won this trade
That escalated quickly.
There is always one
WOW. The Knicks are getting rid of THJ and Lee and are receiving a 1st rounder. KP notwithstanding, their GM deserves a medal.
Ummm they just traded the best player they’ve drafted since Ewing (maybe Mark Jackson) for the hope that they can get lucky in the lottery
Who cares about who they drafted. When they sign Durant and Kemba this summer, will anyone really care that the Knicks didn’t draft them?
Yeah since historically the Knicks have signed the best players in free agency due to their winning ways and great management. Case in point: their best player wanted to leave
Their best player who is injury prone and can’t stay on the court right?
Assuming two superstars are signing in the perpetual dumpster fire that is the Knicks franchise is funny. I don’t think anybody knows where KD is playing next season as he gets plenty of media attention and the best chance to win championships is still in Golden State. And by all accounts, there has been nothing to suggest that Kemba is definitely leaving Charlotte (outside of people assuming he’s going to the Knicks only because he’s from New York). Loyalty is a big thing for Kemba, and assuming the Hornets give him the max or close to it, it wouldn’t surprise many people if he stays in Charlotte. Having that much cap space should make the Knicks a contender in free agency, but it hardly makes them a sure thing to sign a star player let alone two.
What makes you so sure that the Knicks will be able to bring in 2 Star FA’s, or even 1? They haven’t exactly had the best luck in free agency lately. It simply being New York isn’t enough. The team has been a dumpster fire for a while. If this was NBA2K then sure, 2 stars incoming near guaranteed. Unfortunately this is real life where only cap space isn’t enough. The Knicks aren’t an attractive FA destination and haven’t been for a while.
What makes you so sure they won’t? One thing I am sure of is that there was NO CHANCE of getting 2 max guys with THJ and Lee on the payroll. And a pretty small chance of even getting 1 to play with them.
It’s definitely rolling the dice, but it’s not like they were really doing that much winning with Porzingis.
Right, but he also can’t stay healthy. Like, at all. As a Knicks fan, I hate seeing him go but let’s be honest.
He’s literally only had one major injury that he’s still trying to come back from.
Yep. He looks great in street clothes
I would have to assume Ntikilina or Mudiay will be involved too. Unless the Knicks just want to collect point guards.
Burke allegedly involved
Nope
Burke makes sense too, but they HAVE to move Ntikilina now in a separate deal, don’t they?
KP and Doncic on the samw team will be nice
Knicks franchise is a joke
Whatever you probably boo’d him when he was drafted. Shows you how much you knew
The Knicks should have drafted Smith Jr. to begin with. Now, in true Knicks fashion, they’re dumping their franchise player for pennies on the dollar. The NBA would really benefit from the Knicks being good again. They’ve literally been the joke of the league since MJ denied Ewing of a ring(s) in the 90s. Who do they even build around at this point? A sense a follow up on Game of Zones featuring Dolan..lol
MJ did his part to deny them a ring, but they had their chance when he was playing baseball. But they couldn’t beat the Rockets and Hakeem.
Yep
yeah as a rockets fan I was tired about hearing how with Jordan gone ewing is the best player in the NBA ..Hakeem put that to bed in the finals that year and the next year when he manhandled Robinson.
Not to mention manhandling a young Shaq in the Finals as well. Hakeem was without a doubt the top player in MJ’s two year sojourn.
Imo, Hakeem is the best all around C of all time.
Of his era, definitely. But I don’t think I can put him ahead of Wilt, Russell, or Kareem.
Suns give up everything but ayton and booker. Including your pick
Will KP play this year?
Who cares
the guy who’s asking, that’s who cares
I didn’t mean it rudely. I meant this is a trade for the future and KP getting on the court at all this season would be a bonus
oh gotcha, my bad
Lol you good. I should’ve phrased it less douchey
small chance, possibly not now…..
But KP AND Luka together….
#TeamEuro
Yoooooooo what?? I’m going to have to re-read this b/c it caught me completely off guard
And you can send Smith,Jordan,and Mathews away as well.
Knicks clear up their cap and get DSJ and a first. MAVS go all in on euro league basketball and build a future contender. Well done everybody. As long as the Knicks get an Elite free agent or two, this is a great trade for NBA fans everywhere. I love it.
They had ability to get a max FA before this trade. Give away dressed up as a trade. Fizdale must have said one too many stupid things to KP about his role.
So now you’re just blindly hating on fizdale
Zinger is better than what they got for him. He was always going to be hard to keep but Knick mgmt should have assuaged better. They have to land at least one whale now to justify their dreaming of several.
Based on the timing of when they did it, I actually think they did very well in the trade, and I also dont see how it has anything to do with having some sort of personal vendetta against David Fizdale
And I dont necessarily think they absolutely need to sign multiple max guys immediately to justify it, as they can continue to build correctly around their youth and all of the draft picks they have for another year or so before looking to make a bigger move. That route makes a lot of sense if they get a top 3 pick this year, and arent able to supplement their pieces with free agency
What’s the point of getting this extra cap space a year or two earlier then we would anyway if not to sign elite guys now-? 70 mm in cap space to overpay a bunch of THJ’s-? That’s plan B-? Or, roll it over, which means we got nothing from trading Lee and THJ. That’s actually preferable to plan B imo, but it makes them look incompetent.
No vendetta against the HC. I thought it was a good hire at the time, and still hope it turns out that way. But he himself talked up his key role in making sure KP was kept in the fold during his rehab. What grade would you give him on that-?
Dude they did well in the trade. Porzingis wasnt going to play this year, and would be coming off missing a year and a half next year, so what is the problem? They have multiple bigs to replace him, and are actually accumulating assets. This narrative you are trying to start about Fizdale makes no sense.
We would have to know what, if anything, is irking Zinger. Chances are it’s Fiz but I don’t think that is certain. Story to tell
Agreed! WOW! The Mavericks would become your new international team to replace the Spurs. They would be fun to watch. Porzingas and Doncic could do postgame interviews in Russian. Lol. Need to acquire Sabonis and sign Bogdonovich from Pacers.
Luke, Can the Knicks turn around and offer Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan and their first pick to the Pelicans for AD?
Not before the deadline — DSJ, Jordan, and Matthews could each be flipped on their own, but their salaries can’t be aggregated in a trade until the offseason.
Don’t you think the Mavs would’ve done that…that’s not even close to enough for AD
what about DSMJ,Robinson,Knox probably have to put in Kanter or Mathews for salary and the Mavs and their own first round pick?
seems like a pretty good deal to me.
knicks can then sign irving as a FA in offseason.
Silly, I’m talking if Knicks get 1st or 2nd pick (Williamson or Barrett), plus Smith Jr., plus Jordan, plus a Dallas pick. Magic has gone all in now. He wants a trade by February 7. He’s offered Ingram, Kuzma, Ball, Zubac, a 1st pick and another player for AD. If the Pelicans say we’ll wait, the Knicks and Celtics are in play. I think at the draft the Knicks can offer their high lottery pick, future picks, Dennis Smith Jr. Kevin Knox, and still sign Kyrie if they get AD.
@justinkm19. Saying you are silly. If Pelicans hold on to AD, and Knicks get a top 3 pick, they can make a serious offer for AD and then maybe try to convince Kyrie to join them.
Not after the deal is finalized and submitted to the league. But I doubt that happens for a day or so. Deals are opened up for 3rd teams some. But the Knick’s FO isn’t up to that.
So this is an effort to sign Durant or Kyrie in the off-season I guess
Or both.
lol Knicks…you guys get ridiculed hard after drafting KP. Then he goes off showing everyone they were wrong. So you now you trade him at a discounted rate?!?!…I don’t get it
Not sure it’s discounted. He’s not a shoe in to rebound 100%, Knicks got rid of a couple of bad contracts, acquired a first round pick down the road, and opened the door to sign two max free agents while hopefully drafting a top three pick.
Typical Knicks. This team will continue to be the joke of the NBA as long as Dolan owns them. Unbelievable!! Those picks will amount to role players at best. They dumped bad contracts for cap space that will not net a legit FA because why would they want to play there? LeBron, Durant, etc… have already said no thanks to NY and that was WITH the Unicorn. Such a mess.
In a New York Minute.
Sorry guys, I’ve just seen the Knicks blow opportunities way too many times to have any faith in their plan. As a native New Yorker, I wish the Knicks could return to greatness but I have 0 confidence in that happening
If im knicks you take this years mavs pick because kp and luka aint gonna lose
If they can get it unprotected, they’d have 2 lotto picks in a nice draft
Hawks have that pick from the Luka trade l?
Yep, you’re correct. Mavs don’t own a first this year (unless it’s a top 5 pick). Atlanta picked up the Mavericks first round pick last year with they traded Luka.
Your right guys my bad. Still a nice trade for mavs! Luka and kp is nasty not to mention hardway aint no slouch and cant be a 3 and d shooting guard for luka.
GREAT trade for the knicks! Great! Finally…
Only if they can land something better than KP with their new capspace & two picks. Which is not impossible. I guess I would do the trade too, with KP geting itchy and probably not cut out for the big apple. I would try to move SmithJr though.
Wow. Luka & Zinger
6’8” torn acl can end a career. 7’3” means your career is virtually over. We dropped Jabari Parker and ask how the bulls are enjoying the 20 mil mistake?!
You gotta love Mark Cuban as an owner…he’s probably the most invested owner in the league, stays aggressive and never afraid to go for it. Its gotta keep Mavs fans invested knowing he’s always swinging for fences (last season not withstanding of course lol)
Is it just me or are there any good contracts in the NBA besides rookie deals it seems like everyone is on like a terrible contract that teams are always trying to move
seems like there is a lot more buyers remorse in the NBA now then ever before. like one season they brag about landing such and such and the next season its we are going to have to attatch a first round pick for someone to take this contract off our hands…
Agree & lol both posts
WOW! Didn’t see this coming especially not so fast after the report of him not being happy. I guess the writing was on the wall for a while now but still shocks me. When he comes back from that injury the Mavs got good pieces to build around how and should be in contention with other top teams in the West.
Oddly good deal for both teams. Mavs can now test the waters a bit with the type of players that fit best around Luka before making a long term commitment to a top free agent. (If they can get one)
I applaud the Knicks basketball operations for doing something really difficult: realizing they were heading down a dead end road before they reached the end. They traded two untradeable contracts and got an asset back in the pick and a theoretical asset in Smith JR.
I guess Jordan and Matthews can play canasta with Kanter on the bench while Fiz developes the young guys.
they should be able to flip DJ I would think .. even Kanter should have some value.
Separate Move – Dump Harrison Barnes, and Lee on the Kings and free up cap space to get a Max level player. Right now they’d have around 8M in cap space w/cap holds.
Wow. Nice move
1:15 PM – KP meets with Dolan, Brother says he wouldn’t mind getting traded.
1:16 PM – Dolan tells him to GTFO of his office.
1:17 PM – News of Meeting
1:29 PM – News of Trade Possibility
1:30 PM – Dolan calls Cuban while on-set shooting an episode of Shark Tank.
2:57 PM – Mills Finalized Trade
3:00 PM – Dolan instructs Steve Mills to send Dell Demps a GIF of a mic drop
HR must to an article like this^^^.
Not that I disbelieve Z-A!
Too rich
I could see a Jordan buyout
Would go to Houston
GSW
He’s gone at the end of the year. No need to buy out.
Mavs make the deal of the century, totally abusing the three stooges. This regime signs THJ, and destroys Lee’s value, and then they give away our only elite asset to get rid of them. DSJ-? LMAO. Nobody would give even a protected 1st for him or he’d have been traded when he threw a tantrum and left the team. He can’t play PG (requires vision and judgment) and can’t shoot. The 1st is too remote to have any meaning.
Great job of maintaining the relationship Fiz !!
Now the Mavs sign DeAndre back or Boogie and that’s a top 4 team in the West
I don’t see DeAndre coming back. Lots of ‘noise’ about him not being the best fit on the Mavs. Cousins would be crazy insane though
Another winner in this deal: Atlanta. If KP is shelved for the rest of the year, that lotto pick is looking better for them.
Great move for Dallas still. Great move for Knicks if they can land a max player and Zion.
True, unless the Mavs pick lands in the top 5. Then Dallas keeps the pick this year.
Knicks can now land two max players. Even better.
Lol the Knicks have had hella cap space for years now and consistently land no one. I doubt kyrie ever leaves Boston he’s the franchise player on a historic team
He hasn’t won anything. Not a historic team. Historic franchise sure.
Kyrie has one championship under his belt.
With Boston?
F Porzingis, Knicks finally grew tired of his bum ass and his brother requesting things/being divas. good riddance, take your crap to Dallas
He wasn’t Lit enough for NYC.
– J. Noah
His crap? Kanter’s crap? Gasol’s crap?
KP won’t have any issues in Dallas because he’ll have a real HC. He’ll know what is role with the team is, which Fizdale couldn’t articulate for 8 months.
Plus, Mavs win regardless, since they dumped a far bigger diva on us in DSJ. He can’t play PG, so when that’s evident, does he throw another tantrum and leave the team?
I’m a Cavs fan, so no favorite here, but this REALLY feels to me like Kyrie and Durant are headed to the Knicks now, along with another great PG and a 1st round pick.
The Knicks are back after 30 years of wandering in the desert?
I’m a Knicks fan and not willing to say that yet. Dolan is still the owner. Mills is still an exec and had signed some bad players – some traded in today’s deal. Perry has a bad track record from his Orlando and partial Sacramento days. Still not confident enough until it actually happens.
Bright side: The next time Irving’s camp says they’re not sure Irving wants to re-up with BOS, people won’t start thinking he is headed for the Lakers. The Knicks make much more sense.
Two number one’s. Even better.
Knicks do a “Full Isiah” —
Can’t wait to hear Isiah Thomas on NBA TV praise his protege Mills for the coup of acquiring the Mavs’ 4th best PG for an elite asset. Oh, and that wonderful cap space. Mills can now sign a couple more THJ contracts after elite FAs laugh at suiting up for Fiz. In a couple of years we can trade our top 5 pick to get rid of those. Shrewd guy.
I agree with you DXC. Makes me think about giving up on basketball entirely. I mean, I don’t know how healthy KP is; maybe KP has been looking terrible in workouts, like he’ll never heal. But he was the best player the Knicks had drafted since Ewing. He may have a better career than Ewing. Its hard for me to believe that KP has a worse career than say Al Horford. If KP comes back healthy, this will go down as one of the worst trades in history. If KP comes back healthy, this trade would have been available during the summer. If free agents promised during the summer to sign with the Knicks, they could have made this trade during the summer. Not sure that’s wise anyway. KP is very talented. There’s no way he was gonna sign his qualifying offer and leave like 100 million dollars on the table. My prediction is the Knicks sign Kemba and Middleton to max contracts over the summer and try and sell this as a win. Will the misery for us Knicks fans never end?
Apparently not. Too many inexplicable things have happened under the three stooges (Mills, Perry and Fizdale) for me to believe they have any kind of clue. Nobody trades a potential superstar who can impact a game on as many levels as KP for a bag of nuts. Has a 23 year old AS (injured or not) ever been traded for “cap space” ?? Will one ever again ?? DSJ wouldn’t fetch even a fully protected 1st on the market (or he’d have been dealt) – he’s worth two 2nd rounders (not my view, that’s the best that was offered, and it wasn’t from the Knicks, so they don’t think he’s worth even that). The 1st round picks we get in this deal-? We’ll see. I suspect they’re window dressing (remote, never to see the top part of the draft).
I agree on Kemba and Middleton, in massive overpays of guys heading into their 30’s who’s best basketball is behind them. They’ll try to sell it as a win, but these guys couldn’t see water in dessert. All the incoherent statements from Fizdale, the one thing he said over and over (in English) was that he and KP were on the same page and that KP was the difference between the Knicks and other rebuilding teams. Is he now going to pivot and say that difference is DSJ-? Or that it’s that one day we may get a draft pick from another team-? My guess is he’ll drop that from his endless drivel.
I like your angst @DXC but I never thought KP was cut out mentally for NYC. Something was always going to go wrong & the “three stooges” simply accelerated it.
@bk- Knicks FO can be bailed out by Irving. They’re giving him added time to think & dream is all I can say.
By all accounts he and his brother loved the city, it was the FO that he had issues with, and, in fairness, he was contaminated by Melo on how “stars” should deal with a FO.
KI coming here would be a coup and certainly validate the FO/HC aren’t boobs, even if they don’t get a second guy. Not sure it validates the trade since we could have signed him without it. But I’d take it. Just don’t see it. KI is frustrated with Boston’s young players? What do you think he’ll think about Fiz’s Kids?
They are more likely to listen to him, or be traded away. Irving wanted out of Cleveland to lead something.
Knicks & Nets both make sense, at just the right time. Things are aligning outside the Knicks that may be big for the Knicks, even if their FO isn’t responsible for it.
So much player movement!– and NY a destination city. And the Knicks have just enough left to acquire ADavis too.
Zinger is better off in a conservative city with Dirk aboard.
Not sure I like this for the Mavs. They’ve given up 3 future #1 picks for Doncic and Zingis. Guess they will try to sign players around them before Doncic is ready for a max
Can’t trade consecutive first round picks so these picks are 3 and 5 years away at the earliest. 4 and 6 years away if the Mavs pick ends up a Top 5 pick this off season. Mavs will be a playoff team by then. So these picks will probably be in the 20’s.
I don’t love the Hardaway Jr and Luka fit. But, atleast Hardaway can shoot it. And he’s still on the younger side. So he’s better then Matthews. Obviously Cuban wants the Porzingis/Luka combo more then anything. And they also have some tradable pieces to find some younger assets to piece together a pretty solid team for the future.
Honestly, think this is a great trade for both teams.
Zinger wanted out, and with Knicks keeping it quiet and moving quickly, they got back more than if it had become a Public trade request. Obviously DSJ doesn’t have Zinger’s upside, but being able to clear their two overpriced multi year deals, creating $40M+ of additional space, and add two 1sts is a win for NY. Whether they can land two max players this offseason is questionable, but with $70M+ cap space available, they could really fill out a nice roster with the Brogdon’s and WCS’ of the league.
Dallas gets Dirk/Nash 2.0, and though the Mavs cap space shrinks this offseason (they still have money, just not a tonne), they’re flush with space again in 2020, and are able to at that point another Super Star to a still young duo of Zinger and Luka.
Why would the Knicks trade for DSj if they’re gonna sign Kyrie in the offseason? Trier is now our only shooting guard signed for next year. Is he really ready for prime time and who’s the back up? Who is gonna play center? Mitchell Robinson has only played in 35 out of 50 games. Why would Kyrie and Durant sign on to play for an organization that has no idea how to build a winning team?
Because it’s always been a long shot to get an elite FA, and until today the 3 stooges acknowledged that, but, they said, KP (a cheap cap hit max guy) is a special lure to get a 2nd one. Now, it’s two older max guys and, without the special lure, they’re now confident. They screwed the pooch and they’re engaged in damage. Unfortunately, the facts haven’t changed. It’s still what they said, FA is a “try”, but now it’s 2 max guys or bust or worse (bad contracts), and bust is still the most likely outcome.
Tell us how you really feel
So, An injured KP plus 30 mil in cap space is better than 70 mil in cap space because the Knicks said KP would help the team recruit a good free agent?
Am I missing something or are you in need of medication?
The Mavs never forgot what DeAndre did to them lmao
Stop with Durant or any other player. This dysfunctional organization in prime for a sale. Sell to someone who cares
I laugh at all you Knick fans who think this was a great trade and think this will open up KD and another superstar to sign there. Answer me this….who’s signed with the Knicks within the last 30 years that’s been a “Superstar”? I’ll wait….
Knicks fans are on that Koolaid. They don’t hold ownership accountable. And they might possibly the most poorly informed, least sophisticated fans in the NBA. That explains how the Knicks have gotten away with these ill-constructed rosters and dumb player signings over the last 30 years.
Mets, Jets, and Knicks. Always good for a laugh. And their fan bases amplify the comedy.
Need to do a follow-up article – Knicks 2019 Free Agent probability – do a poll & such.
It wouldn’t hurt my feelings if Jimmy Butler went to the Knicks and the Sixers landed someone else. All it cost was two 6th man players anyway for 1 year of Jimmy. His handle is weak, and it was not reassuring seeing the ball in his hands at the end of the game vs the Warriors – almost gave it away.
Yeah, Butler is trash. You’re not winning anything with him as your first or second option.
I think Butler is a keeper for Philly, even as an overpay, because Embid and Simmons are there as cheaper max guys during his contract, and you need some edge on the perimeter.
As a lead dog with Fiz’s Kids, he’d be a disaster. PLEASE PHILLY make him a nice offer. I don’t trust the Knicks FO not to pursue best available even if he doesn’t fit – they have to justify the trade.
I guess it’s once again that time when the Knicks fans will tell everyone about what players they will be getting because “everyone wants to play in the Mecca, in the greatest city in the world”. After all, look at all those studs that have joined the Knicks over the years, starting back in 2010, when they landed LeBron, Bosh, Wade, Nowitzki, CP3, etc. etc. etc. before they got KD, Westbrook, and K-Love to join with Meeeeeelo. Now, I’m sure they will tell us about how next year they’ll have AD, Durant, Kyrie, Butler, and Kawhi.
Better than telling people Dennis Smith was the target of this trade or a player they would regret passing on.
But…Marlins fan base explains the confusion.
I didn’t say that. I pointed out the fact that if the Knicks fired Phil before that draft instead of after, they would have had Dennis Smith instead of that wasted pick that they selected before at least 3 better guards that were drafted after, which everyone expected to get selected in that spot instead.
Yes you did. You said they wouldn’t have had to trade KP if they had drafted Smith or one of the other two players.
They didn’t trade KP to get smith and they didn’t trade KP because Smith wasn’t on the team.
There is nothing there that says that Smith was the target. It was just pointing out that they would have had him, and it wouldn’t have involved giving up KP. If you still give up KP, it would have been for another piece.
Comprende?
Either way, it’s clear as day that the Knicks failed in firing Phil after the draft that year instead of before, like they should have considering that it was clearly already decided when they let him waste their draft pick on a guy that everyone felt 3 other guards (Smith being one of them) should have been the pick in that spot – all of which are better than the guy the Knicks allowed Phil to select.
No comprende. You are arguing both sides.
To think, if the Knicks fired Phil before the Draft instead of after, they would have already had Dennis Smith, Jr, or at least two other better picks…and it wouldn’t have required them trading KP to do so.
Smith isn’t the point. Nobody cares about fixing that draft. There are bigger targets.
The knicks had to clear room for one max slot and the way the team has been playing, how certain could they be that a big FA would come here?
With two max slots they can get two proven stars who want to play together in a big market.
Why would anyone want a player who hasn’t proven anything except that he can put up stats and get people fired and one potential FA when you could simply have two great players who want to be here?
If you don’t think they can sign two stars you clearly don’t think they could have signed one so what do people want? There were no guarantees before they trade.
Maybe the Knicks need to stop using their outdated sales pitch of thinking that every player wants to play in NY. That clearly isn’t working. Most Superstar players want to play where they can win, and with an organization that is run well. Players who don’t care how an organization is run are the ones that you don’t want (Meeeeelo for example).
How is a lousy team in NY going to convince Superstar players who are from other parts of the country and the world, that want to win, to join the Knicks based on the “everyone wants to play in the greatest city in the world”? That player’s concept of the “greatest city in the world” is very likely where they live and grew up. Even the ones from NY would want to win, and if they don’t care, you should not want that player (again, Meeeeelo).
You really don’t know enough about the team to have this conversation and I’m not interested in explaining the teams history to someone who isn’t a fan.
Who told you that slogan is how they sign players anyway? You should try to think about the situation instead of regurgitating soundbites.
So, what your saying is that the selling point that your fan base, media, and the national networks have mentioned is the selling point is not what the selling point is? So basically you’re saying that every Knicks fan, NY writer, and national media source that says that is full of fecal matter?
Knicks fans don’t really care about winning. They go to the Garden to be seen, kinda like #Cubdrones at Wrigley.
That is not answerable.
NY is built up nationally.
Players have more power than ever; conditions are different now. They can agree to gather somewhere, where they do not have to rely on a FO to gather talent because they already are the talent.
Will it work? We will see.