Trade Reaction: Dallas Mavericks Acquire Kristaps Porzingis from the New York Knicks

The New York Knicks have been in many trade talks this past year while they look to shave some cap space to sign a big free agent this summer. Courtney Lee, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Enes Kanter are among the many who have been involved in these talks. However, it was not expected they would trade their franchise cornerstone, Kristaps Porzingis. 

The 7’3”, fourth-year player has missed the entire season thus far with a torn ACL. The injury occurred nearly a year ago, on February 6^th, 2018 against the Milwaukee Bucks. Porzingis and the Knicks brass had disagreements, lately on Porzingis’ timetable of return. Porzingis has been pushing to come back earlier than the Knicks are comfortable with.

Kristaps Porzingis has recently stated his frustration with the organization and has questioned their culture and urgency to win. Porzingis has been very open with his clear frustration and the Knicks front office finally had enough. The Knicks have agreed to trade Kristaps Porzingis, Courtney Lee, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Trey Burke to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews, and two future first-round picks.

The team has acquired guard Dennis Smith Jr., center DeAndre Jordan, guard/forward Wesley Matthews and two future first round draft picks from Dallas in exchange for forward Kristaps Porzingis, and guards Tim Hardaway Jr., Trey Burke and Courtney Lee.

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) January 31, 2019

From the Knicks standpoint, it shows two things; they are putting up with no nonsense and backlash even from the franchise’s cornerstone and they fear of offering the impending restricted free agent a max contract this offseason. This offseason, the Latvian sensation was eligible for a super-max contract that would have kept Porzingis a Knick for five years with a contract worth $157 million. It becomes apparent that the Knicks questioned Porzingis’ health and attitude towards the organization and their plans for the future. 

Reporting with @ZachLowe and @RamonaShelburne: In meeting with management today, Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis expressed his concern with the losing, franchise direction and an uncertainty that a culture is developing that will enable sustainable organizational success.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 31, 2019

Along with Porzingis, the Knicks also shed Hardaway Jr and Lee off next year’s payroll. In doing so, this opens up the opportunity for the Knicks to sign two big name free agents. The question remains, without Porzingis to showcase as a lure for players to want to play with, how can they manage to sign any big name free agents? 

As the saying goes; money talks. Luckily for the Knicks, they have plenty of that this upcoming offseason. Along with being in the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, the mecca of basketball. To answer the question however, the Knicks have a promising young team. With Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson, Frank Ntilikina, newly acquired Dennis Smith Jr and DeAndre Jordan, and on the cusp of a top-three draft pick this summer, the Knicks set themselves up as an intriguing team to watch in years to come. If things work out in their favor, this could set the table for their first championship since 1973. 

As for the Mavericks, they’re looking for a change in leadership. With Dirk Nowitzki’s inevitable retirement inching closer and closer, the Mavericks are looking for someone to take the reigns and lead them to another championship. The duo of Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis is certainly going to be one to watch for years to come, that is if the Mavericks manage to ink Porzingis to a new contract this offseason. Unfortunately for the Mavericks, they will have to wait until next season to potentially see Porzingis in a Mavericks jersey. The front office is opting to have Porzingis recover this season and plan to bring him back at full strength next season. 

Kristaps Porzingis probably will not play for the Mavericks this season as he continues his recovery from a torn ACL in his left knee suffered a year ago, Dallas owner Mark Cuban told ESPN.

— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) February 1, 2019

Doncic has already taken the league by storm is an early candidate to win Rookie of the Year. Doncic would be the first Maverick Rookie of the Year winner since Jason Kidd, who won the award in the 1994-1995 season. Doncic has already won over the praise and approval of some of the game’s best including LeBron James. Many are comparing Doncic’s rookie season to James’ rookie season in 2004. LeBron James also went on to win Rookie of the Year, followed along with many other of the highest of accolades attainable in the National Basketball Association. With the addition of Kristaps Porzingis, Doncic and the Mavericks may be on the road to their next championship and their first since the 2010-2011 season. Fans of the NBA will just have to wait until next season to see the duo take the court for the first time, unfortunately. 

The Mavericks are remaining cautious with Porzingis. Coming off of a major knee injury, the Mavericks will have to work the 7’3” power forward back into the lineup when his return gets closer. A knee injury for a man of his size is surely going to have to be monitored on a nightly basis. Prior to the knee injury, Porzingis’ body and frame was already questionable. It is to be speculated that the Mavericks and head coach, Rick Carlisle, will frequently rest Porzingis and place a minute restriction. Just as the Philadelphia 76ers had done with their star center, Joel Embiid.  

At standing at 7’3” tall and weighing 240lbs, Porzingis just hasn’t been strong enough to play the center position in the NBA. Many times, he had trouble sizing up against opponents and just wasn’t strong enough to maneuver his way to the basket or stand up to bigger opponents on the defensive side. That left him at a disadvantage and opponents would take advantage of that. 

The Knicks would then counter by positioning Porzingis at power forward. Again, Porzingis would struggle because his lack of stamina would play a part in him getting beat on defense. It became a challenge for Porzingis to play at the same intensity night in and night out due to his lack of strength and stamina, which is something the Mavericks will have to account for. Coming off this injury may put Porzingis at risk of slowing down even more.

Luckily for Porzingis, the Mavericks will pair him with Doncic, Harrison Barnes, and Tim Hardaway Jr., whom can take a lot of the pressure off of Porzingis. That gives the power forward an edge by spreading the court for the team; which is something the Knicks couldn’t offer Porzingis. 

All in all, the trade makes sense for both teams. The Dallas Mavericks acquire a piece in Porzingis who can help lead them to the playoffs in years to come. The New York Knicks create cap space to sign two superstar free agents, offload some expensive contracts, and make room to set the foundation for the future.