By: Tony LiebertIf you were not aware the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks made a trade last week, centered around 23 year old Latvian superstar Kristaps Porzingis. FULL TRADE DETAILS: New York Knicks Receive: Dennis Smith Jr, DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews, two future first round picks. Dallas Mavericks Receive: Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr, Trey Burke, Courtney Lee. Knicks side of the trade: In the public eye, the majority of sports media was confused by this trade for the New York Knicks. I thought otherwise. This was a trade that needed to be done for New York. The star 7-footer Porzingis was clearly upset with the front office and the direction of the franchise. The main argument to the trade being bad for the Knicks, is that "Why would a franchise that had struggled too much to find their star, why would they trade the closest thing they've had to that?" I am a huge Porzingis fan, but it was time for the Knicks to move on. You could clearly tell that their current core was not prepared to contend for a title and they needed more pieces. And for your main star for of your young core to not be on board with the franchise, is enough evidence for me to think it was time for Porzingis to move on. The Knicks received a great compensation for the Latvian star, Porzingis. Kristaps is coming off of a torn ACL, so he clearly did not have as much value on the trade market as he would if he were healthy. Kristaps also is a restricted free agent this summer, therefore if he was still on the team he would have most likely been receiving a pretty big contract from the Knicks so it was time to move on. Starting with Dennis Smith Jr, DSJ is an incredible explosive young point guard, who defiantly has the potential to develop into a fringe all-star level point guard and an above average starting PG in the NBA. It also ironic the Knicks ended up with DSJ after being criticized for taking Frank Ntilikina instead of Smith in the 2017 NBA draft. Smith Jr will most likely be the only player still in New York after this season from this trade. Even though the Knicks only get DeAndre Jordan for the rest of this season, they get an elite level rebounder with great shot blocking ability. While also being great at finishing around the rim. The Knicks could still flip Jordan at the deadline or re-sign him during free agency this summer. The last player the Knicks received was sharp shooting two guard Wesley Matthews, who is a great three point shooter, and can be a strong rotation player on a championship team. Similar to Jordan, Matthews has one year left on his contract and could be flipped for something else at the deadline, or sign a more team friendly contract in the offseason. Lastly the Knick received two future first round picks that most likely will be in the back end of the draft most likely in the late 20s. I think these picks are still valuable, and you can receive great rotation players or a diamond in the rough. You can also package these picks in another deal for something more valuable. The main reason this trade was so good for the Knicks, was because of the salary cap relief they received. The Knicks got rid of Courtney Lee who has this season and one more, where he will be making 12+ million dollars. They also traded away Tim Hardaway Jr who has three more seasons where he will be making 17-18 million dollars. Trey Burke is on a relatively salary friendly contract so he is not relavent. The Knicks also took on two expiring deals in Jordan and Matthews, which will be expiring this summer. This means this upcoming offseason the Knicks could potentially have 74.6 million dollars in cap space. This frees up to max deal spots for the Knicks in a loaded free agent class that currently contains, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler, Kemba Walker, and DeMarcus Cousins just to name a few. If the Knicks are able to sign even one of these stars while having a projected top five pick in the upcoming NBA draft, they have the "CHANCE" to roll out a starting lineup of, Kyrie Irving, Dennis Smith Jr, Kevin Knox, Kevin Durant, and Zion Williamson. This is obviously a big "CHANCE" but even having this possibility makes trading Porzingawd very worth it. Mavericks side of the trade: I also really like this trade for the Dallas Mavericks. You can clearly tell that the combo of Dennis Smith Jr, and Doncic was working but kind of holding back Luka. So the Maverick has to acquire a star to pair with Doncic. In my recent article where you can read by clicking on this link (Luka Article) I wrote about why I think Luka Doncic has the potential to be an NBA great. I also think Porzingis has that same potential and I think he has shown that in his young NBA career. Tim Hardaway Jr, Courtney Lee, and Trey Burke all are solid role players for a championship team. But I expect the Mavericks to get off of Hardaway Jr, and Lee's unfriendly contracts. Porzingis was clearly the center piece of this trade and the Mavericks are going all in to a Porzingis, Doncic future. What better situation could arguably the two best young European prospects be in. They have the ability to both be the leaders of their team, while being mentored by the greatest European basketball player of all time Dirk Nowitzki. I think this was the move the Mavericks had to make and they will show Mark Cuban to never make the same mistake he did with Nash and Nowitzki. And with more pieces I think the Mavericks will be able to compete for a title with this young core of Porzingis and Doncic.
2 Comments
3/30/2019 04:19:41 am
I was both shocked and amused when the trade came through. As a long time Mavericks fan, I have always dreamed of having a team with such talented players. I think that we just got two of the most promising young athletes in the entire NBA. Luka Doncic is poised to take the rookie of the year award this year, while we already know what Kristap Porzingis brings to the table. We will surely be a force to be reckoned with in the near future.
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Tony Liebert
3/30/2019 06:55:14 am
They will be one of the most fun teams to watch in the NBA for years to come 👍🏼
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