Kristaps Porzingis trade rumors: 5 teams that should trade for Knicks’ star
Kristaps Porzingis trade rumors have taken the NBA by storm. It’s unlikely a deal gets done, but here are five potential trade scenarios anyway.
NBA trade season has kicked back into high gear approaching into the 2017 NBA Draft, and Kristaps Porzingis trade rumors escalated what was one of the most hectic days for league-wide rumors and speculation in recent memory.
As The Vertical‘s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Tuesday, the New York Knicks were weighing the possibility of trading their seven-foot franchise cornerstone, which prompted a flurry of activity from around the league.
Though Woj and ESPN‘s Ian Begley both clarified the Knicks were simply fielding calls, and not actively shopping the star Latvian, it’s a terrible look for team president Phil Jackson and the organization regardless.
Due diligence is one thing, but anything short of publicly and vehemently denying the availability of one of the league’s most valuable trade assets sends the wrong message — especially with the team bringing in Arizona’s Lauri Markkanen, another tall prospect who can shoot, for a workout.
After Porzingis skipped the team’s exit interviews citing organizational dysfunction and drama, there were rumblings the future star was unhappy with his situation and the way Jackson had dragged the name of his teammate and mentor, Carmelo Anthony, through the mud.
According to Begley, Porzingis’ brother Janis Porzingis, says Kristaps loves the city and the fans, and would like to continue his career in New York. He also said he’d play out the remainder of his contract if he were traded somewhere.
Now, the likelihood of a Porzingis trade seems to have died down, especially after The Vertical‘s Chris Mannix reported exactly that.
Growing skepticism among some execs in contact w/New York that the Knicks are serious about a KP deal. Price described as extremely high.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) June 20, 2017
However, if we know anything about the Knicks, it’s that they’re a cluster-f**k of dysfunction. They’ve been this way for decades, and adding Jackson to the mix has only made matters worse.
That’s why it wasn’t surprising to hear Woj say on his pre-draft show on Facebook Live that the Knicks were not only taking calls, but actively shopping him after all.
Woj just said on his live show that the Knicks aren't just fielding calls, they've actually actively called teams about trading Porzingis
— sreekar (@sreekyshooter) June 22, 2017
Phil Jackson on Kristaps: "As much as we love this guy, we have to do what's best for the club."
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) June 22, 2017
Since they’re even considering the possibility of moving Three Six Latvia, we wouldn’t be doing our due diligence if we didn’t draw up a few trade scenarios to put Kristaps Porzingis in a more stable situation.
Now, all 29 teams in the NBA would love to trade for the 21-year-old Zinger, a seven-foot unicorn that just averaged 18.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game on .450/.357/.786 shooting splits in his second NBA season.
But which ones actually have the required assets to make it happen, and would actually be willing to pay the price for one of the league’s most valuable contracts? Bearing all this in mind, here’s a look at five potential Porzingis trades that would actually make sense for both sides.