Porzingis clearly soured on the direction of the franchise, and if he wanted out, credit to the Knicks for keeping it quiet and moving him quickly as opposed to the melodrama the franchise has been known for the past two decades.
While the basketball world has been focused on
the Anthony Davis saga, the Knicks were able to stealthily put this deal together, with both sides moving closer on
Wednesday night when the Mavericks were in town.
There were concerns about giving Porzingis a full max contract because of his injury, league sources told Yahoo Sports, and there were concerns off the floor.
The Knicks were worried about Porzingis’ brother, Janis, who’s been more involved in Kristaps’ affairs and wanted to make demands to the front office about acquiring certain players, sources told Yahoo Sports. When the front office pushed back, the doubts about Porzingis having a future in New York came into play.