Less than a week after skipping the exit meetings for the New York Knicks, Kristaps Porzingis’ name has suddenly emerged on the trade rumor mill.
PorzinGod trade rumors
NBA insider Frank Isola provided his opinion on whether or not the Latvian big man is a tradable asset for the Knicks. And he believes Porzingis, widely regarded as the future of the Knicks franchise, is not untouchable from trade negotiations, especially if the pursuing team is willing to put a top pick and a player (perhaps an up-and-coming star) on the table.
Isola’s Porzingis trade speculation should be taken with a grain of salt since the writer is notorious for ‘concocting’ blockbuster trade rumors, most of these involving Knicks stars.
Last February, Isola wrote an article of New York Daily News, accusing LeBron James of lobbying the Cavs front office to trade Kevin Love to New York in exchange for buddy Carmelo Anthony at the trade deadline.
On the other hand, the scenario of Porzingis switching uniform might not be out of the realm of possibility. The 7-foot-3 forward/center has been expressing his disappointment with the direction the Knicks are taking under the president of basketball operation phil jackson. On the last day of the regular-season, Porzingis might have realized he had enough of the drama going on within the organization and decided to snub the exit meetings in favor of some leisure around New York City.
Nobody is Safe from Jackson
Jackson stressed during the Knicks’ final media day that nobody in the locker room will be spared from trades and that includes Porzingis, who is arguably the most valuable trade asset the team has.
The former Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls head coach has been pushing the Knicks coaching staff to fully embrace the triangle offense.
This is evident when Jackson brought back his triangle disciple Kurt Rambis to the team less than a year after he was relieved of his head coaching duties. Porzingis and Anthony actively opposed the return of triangle offense since it doesn’t fit with their skills sets.
As the Knicks enter what will likely be a tumultuous offseason, there’s certainly no assurance if Anthony, Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose and Porzingis will stay in New York.
It’s no secret that Jackson puts more value on his system than his players. He himself admitted this in his previous book when he tried to trade then promising star Kobe Bryant for Jason Kidd and Shawn Marion in 2002.
