The start of the summer for New York Knicks young big man Kristaps Porzingis has not been great. Shortly after the season ended for the Knicks, team president Phil Jackson openly stated that it was possibly best for the Knicks to move on from star forward Carmelo Anthony. That apparently upset Porzingis and KP elected to skip the exit meetings with the Knicks front office and head home to his native land, Latvia.
Apparently, shortly after the news of Porzingis skipping the team meeting came out, the sharks started circling. The Knicks received calls about the availability of Porzingis in a possible trade.
Following from Ian Begley of ESPN.
Several teams reached out to the New York Knicks to talk about possible trades for Kristaps Porzingis in the days after he skipped his exit meeting with Phil Jackson and general manager Steve Mills, league sources told ESPN.
It is unclear if the discussions led to any substantial trade parameters. Teams were inquiring about trading for Porzingis, 21, after he showed his frustration with the direction of the franchise by skipping the meeting.
It would probably take a significant return for the Knicks to consider trading Porzingis, who is entering the third season of his four-year rookie contract.
Porzingis hasn’t spoken with the Knicks since skipping the exit meeting. He left for his home country of Latvia late last month and plans to play for the Latvian national team in the European Championships this offseason.
Obviously, the Knicks didn’t bite and make a deal, yet. It’s unclear who called or what was offered but the simple fact that teams did call could be alarming to some. But as of right now, he’s still with the Knicks, even if is he disgruntled. He has said he wants to stay in New York but if the team does want a full rebuild, he could potentially be a piece that leaves. It’s not the smartest idea but he could haul in a number of assets.
