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It’s funny that for all the missteps the New York Knicks took in 2019, the one they weren’t slaughtered for was trading away a possible once-in-a-generation talent.
They might have felt their hands were tied once Kristaps Porzingis requested a trade. Lacking some degree of leverage, the ‘Bockers were cautiously celebrated for adding future assets and, most importantly, flexibility for what was supposed to be a fortune-changing summer.
ESPN’s Kevin Pelton wrote that “New York wouldn’t make a deal like this without confidence in the organization’s chances of landing at least one, and possibly two, marquee free agents.”
B/R’s Eric Pincus said simply, “Ultimately, New York’s gambit will be judged by its free-agent bounty and how well Porzingis bounces back in Dallas post-injury.”
Well, free agency veered so far off the wheels New York felt compelled to draw up a what-had-happened-was explanation on July 1. Shortly thereafter, they bought free agency’s entire stock of traditional power forwardsone of the least valuable skill sets in the modern gameand built a roster so underwhelming that head coach David Fizdale would only survive the first 22 games.
The free-agency decisions in a vacuum would’ve been the biggest regret of any non-Knicks team. But they only exaggerated what’s turning into an all-time blunder of a blockbuster. Wesley Matthews was waived immediately, DeAndre Jordan left in free agency, Dennis Smith Jr. fell out of the rotation and into the trade-rumor mill, the cap space meant nothing, and the future picks look less attractive with each Mavs win.
New York quite possibly has nothing left from the swap beyond faint hopes of eventually turning the cap room and picks into something. Porzingis, meanwhile, doesn’t have his legs or his rhythm, and he’s already doing unicorn things, like possibly becoming just the second player to average two blocks and two triples per night.
Someone cue the sad trombone, please.