Before he was fired as New York Knicks president, phil jackson floated the idea of trading Kristaps Porzingis to the Boston Celtics for the No. 1 pick, which he will use to get point guard Lonzo Ball. Sports columnist Peter Vecsey told Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype that Jackson explored the explored the possibility of dangling Porzingis to the Boston Celtics, who then owned the No. 1 overall pick.
Vecsey said Jackson will then use the top pick to take Ball, a move that might have satisfied Knicks fans who wanted him out of Madison Square Garden after four years of missing the playoffs.
However, no deal was consummated, as the Celtics traded the No. 1 pick to the Philadelphia 76ers days before the Draft.
Even without the No. 1 pick, the Celtics tried to work out a trade for Porzingis using the No. 3 pick, an unnamed player, and another lottery pick but the Knicks opted to take Frank Ntilikina as the No. 8 overall selection. The Philadelphia 76ers used the No. 1 overall pick to take Markelle Fultz, the Lakers used the No. 2 pick to acquire Ball while the Celtics selected Jayson Tatum as No. 3 overall. Aside from the Celtics, Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog reported that the 76ers, Phoenix Suns, and the San Antonio Spurs reached out to the Knicks about a trade for Porzingis.
Porzingis committed to Knicks
Porzingis’ future with the Knicks was clouded in doubt after he skipped the team’s exit interview and traveled to Latvia for a long vacation. According to reports, Porzingis was disappointed with the team’s troubles and with the way they have been treating Carmelo Anthony. However, the Knicks new front office, headed by general manager Scott Perry and team president Steve Mills, has worked things out with Porzingis, who expressed his commitment to the franchise when he joined the NBA Africa Game earlier this month.
Porzingis admitted that his journey with the Knicks has been tough but he’s hoping to stay in New York for the duration of his career.
Knicks pick up team option on Porzingis
According to Ian Begley of ESPN, the Knicks exercised a team option in the Porzingis’ contract for the 2018-19 NBA season. Porzingis is set to earn $4.5 million in the 2017-18 campaign and $5.7 million the following season.
The Knicks can also extend a $7.5 million qualifying offer for 2019-20 before Porzingis turns restricted free agent. In 66 games last season, Porzingis averaged 18.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks and made 35.7 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.
