Kristaps Porzingis’ name has re-emerged in the trade rumor mill, and this time the Latvian sensation is being linked to a potential blockbuster deal between the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks. Porzingis, who is widely considered the future of Knicks basketball, has surprisingly been shopped around this offseason, though no trade negotiations gained significant traction. However, with the Cavaliers aggressively looking for the right trade partner to deal away Kyrie Irving, many are wondering if the Knicks will be tempted to trade away their rising star for the electric All-Star guard.
The NBA rumors
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that the 7-foot-3 Porzingis is one of the three youngsters (the others are Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics and Josh Jackson of the Phoenix Suns) on the Cavs’ trade wish-list if they ever trade Irving. In fact, the Cavs are zeroing in on Porzingis, who has the upside to become the team’s focal point when Irving and soon LeBron James bolt out of Cleveland. The Knicks could be willing to deal away Porzingis, on a condition that the Cavs should also be willing to absorb Joakim Noah's bad contract ($55 million over three years).
The ESPN NBA insider added other teams aside from the Cavs are also gunning for Porzingis. For the right All-Star player, though -- Irving or otherwise -- multiple NBA teams are seriously questioning how emphatic of a "no" that will stay for New York,” per Wojnarowski report.
The Cavs prepare for LeBron-less future
According to Woj, the Cavaliers are operating as if LeBron will be leaving Cleveland again next season. Of course, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert and new GM Kobe Altman pull out all the stops to lock in the four-time NBA MVP long-term. However, the Cavs’ ownership also aware there no guarantee in James once he hits the free-agency market.
The organization learned it the hard way in 2010 when LeBron left for greener pasture in South Beach. In short, they are trying to leverage Irving’s trade value to get a legit rising star and avoid falling into the same hole again. As what Wojnarowski stated, the Cavs are high on Porzingis either to support James or lead the Cavs to a new era.
More blunder even without Phil
As for the Knicks, it looks like the drama continues weeks removed from the Phil Jackson’s shenanigans. Jackson has already been fired, but his ghost apparently is still lurking somewhere in the Knicks’ front-office.
Right now, the working partnership Steve Mills and Scott Perry hasn’t achieved any major breakthrough. Carmelo Anthony is still a Knick and they are lagging behind Eastern Conference rivals in terms of firepower. Porzingis, whose skill-set is rare even in today’s game, is the Knicks’ last hope for many reasons. The reports of Knicks entertaining the idea of using Porzingis to dump Noah’s contract is absurd. It evokes the question “Do the Knicks really well past the P-Jax era or will there be more nightmarish trades yet to come?
