Why isn’t anyone calling Kristaps Porzingis a diva?

With Kristaps Porzingis heading to the Mavericks, the lack of ridicule he has received for forcing a trade is becoming a bit peculiar.

It is commonplace in the mainstream media to malign NBA players for not declaring their loyalty to a single franchise.

The Ringer’s Bill Simmons recently criticized Kyrie Irving for declaring that he didn’t owe it to the Celtics to re-sign with them this offseason. TNT’s Charles Barkley recently accused LeBron James and Rich Paul of colluding to get Anthony Davis in Los Angeles and said Adam Silver should block the trade.

And in the midst of all of this, a 23-year-old Kristaps Porzingis effectively forced his way out of New York only a year removed from skipping out on an exit meeting with the Knicks front office.

Yet for whatever reason, Porzingis hasn’t caught the same level of flak as his peers for forcing a trade. The lack of criticism becomes even more peculiar when you consider where Porzingis is at this stage in his career.

When NBA players demand trades in the way it appears that Porzingis has, they are typically far more experienced and accomplished than he is.

Porzingis is one of the few young stars to not sign a second contract with the team that drafted them and he is one of even fewer young stars to demand a trade while still in the middle of a rookie deal.

Even players like Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins and Kyrie Irving signed second deals with the teams that drafted them despite all three of their respective franchises being historically incompetent.

Very little has been made of the 23-year-old demanding a trade on his rookie deal despite the rarity of it. And the absence of ridicule is magnified when you consider many of Porzingis’ glaring shortcomings as a player.

Despite standing 7’3″, Porzingis shoots a lowly 43.7 percent from the field for his career. While part of his low percentage is due to his propensity to attempt 3-pointers, it is mostly a reflection of his inconsistency both as a mid-range shooter and as a finisher around the rim.

In the 2017-18 season, Kristaps Porzingis ranked 58th out of 63 in 2-point percentage among players who attempted at least eight 2-point field goals per game.

Despite his large stature, Porzingis averages a mere 7.1 rebounds per game for his career and his total rebound percentages have decreased each season he’s been in the league.

Beyond his shortcomings on the court, Porzingis is now on track to have played only 186 of 328 possible games in his career if he does not return this season.

Usually when a player shows a sense of entitlement in circumstances like these, the media attacks them for showing gall and a lack of awareness. But it appears Porzingis has managed to escape that narrative.

Now compare Porzingis’ trade demands and the context surrounding it to Kawhi Leonard, who also demanded a trade in the midst of recovering from an injury last season.

When news broke that the two-time Defensive Player of the Year wanted out of San Antonio — largely due to the fact that Leonard believed the Spurs were mishandling his right quadricep injury — a maelstrom of criticism was unloaded upon him.

ESPN’s Michelle Beadle called him a “diva,” ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith continuously maligned him for daring to question if the Spurs had his best interest at heart, and his veteran teammate Tony Parker rebuked him by publicly declaring he had played through an injury that was “100 times worse” than the one keeping Kawhi from playing.

Kawhi received all of this ire after not only establishing himself as quite possibly the best two-way player in the NBA, but also after establishing a strong reputation of being a humble hard worker.

Leonard was universally praised in the sports world for scrapping his way from being a role player all the way to becoming a legitimate superstar. All of that good faith he had earned over the previous six seasons went away in the blink of an eye, all because he wasn’t satisfied with the status quo.

The lack of criticism Porzingis has received becomes even more startling when you consider the parallels between Janis Porzingis, Kristaps’ brother and agent, and many of the agents and associates of NBA stars who have been painted as meddlers.

Janis has been vocal about he and Kristaps’ lack of commitment to the Knicks in the past, and many people around the league believe he was instrumental in orchestrating Porzingis’ trade to Dallas.

The role Janis has played with Kristaps is not too dissimilar to the role LeBron James’ close friend Rich Paul has played in Anthony Davis’ trade demands, or the role Kawhi Leonard’s uncle Dennis Robertson played in his trade demands.

Rich Paul acting in the best interest of his clients has drawn criticism from the likes of Jim Boheim, Phil Jackson and the aforementioned Charles Barkley.

Dennis Robertson acting in the best interest of his nephew spurred reports that he was the reason Kawhi’s relationship with San Antonio grew sour.

But when Janis Porzingis helps orchestrate Kristaps’ trade, he not only does so without condemnation, but is literally welcomed as a part of the Dallas Mavericks team by head coach Rick Carlisle.

The more you examine the similarities between Porzingis and other NBA players who demanded trades, the more damning the absence of ridicule becomes.

Now, certainly part of the distinction in coverage has to do with the fact that Kristaps is leaving a Knicks franchise that has been the model of ineptitude for the better part of the 21st century.

But even with the Knicks’ incompetence in mind, we are only two seasons removed from Knicks fans booing Carmelo Anthony for being at odds with Phil Jackson and not waiving his no-trade clause.

Melo actually wanted to be in New York and wanted more competent leadership at the helm, and none of that stopped him from being the target of criticism from fans and pundits alike.

To be clear, I am all for NBA players using whatever power they have to play for whatever team they want to play for, especially when we’re talking about a player wanting to leave a team owned by James Dolan.

Kristaps Porzingis has posted a couple Instagram stories in the past week alluding to the Knicks’ incompetence as an organization — one with a caption stating “The truth will come out” and another with a caption stating “The city deserves better than that…My suggestion for Knicks fans is to STAY WOKE!!”

So given Porzingis’ comments, combined with the Knicks track record of mishandling, well, everything, it would be unfair to paint the Unicorn as being petulant or entitled without hearing the full story.

But the stark contrast between the media response to Kristaps’ trade demands and the responses to the trade demands of more established players like Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving and Kawhi Leonard is absolutely unavoidable.

Maybe it’s a case of white privilege. Maybe it’s a case of the New York Knicks not earning the benefit of the doubt. Maybe there is knowledge about the situation within NBA circles that the general public isn’t privy to. Maybe it’s a combination of all three.

In the end, all we can only hope is that this is the beginning of a paradigm shift in the way the media covers player movement, and hopefully the mere idea of NBA players using their leverage won’t cause so many people to clutch their pearls.