It doesn't seem like the New York Knicks did their full due diligence when it came to trading away franchise forward Kristaps Porzingis.
According to a report from Ian Begley of ESPN, several teams that were interested in making an offer for Porzingis didn't get an opportunity to do so before the Knicks pulled the trigger and traded the fourth-year forward to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews, and future picks. The Knicks did contact the New Orleans Pelicans about a potential deal involving Porzingis and disgruntled Pelicans forward Anthony Davis, but there was uncertainty about Porzingis' desire to play with the Pelicans long-term.
From ESPN:
"At the time of their trade of Porzingis, the Knicks had several offers for the 23-year-old big man, league sources told ESPN.
But multiple teams interested in making an offer for Porzingis said that they were unable to do so before New York traded Porzingis to Dallas, league sources said.
The Knicks were looking for salary-cap relief and young players or future first-round picks in a trade. So while the Knicks could have fielded more offers for Porzingis -- possibly increasing their return in the process -- the transaction with Dallas seemingly accomplished their objective."
Clearly, the Knicks were happy with the return that they received for Porzingis, or at least you could assume that they are, otherwise they wouldn't have made the deal. But it does seem strange that the team didn't wait to evaluate all potential offers before making the move.
On Sunday morning, Porzingis took to Instagram to share a cryptic message for Knicks fans, who will see their team back in action on Tuesday against the Pistons (7:30 p.m. ET -- Watch on FuboTV with NBA League Pass add-on).
"The city deserves better than that," Porzingis wrote. "My suggestion for Knicks fans is to STAY WOKE!!"
Obviously, there were some underlying issues between the Knicks and Porzingis that worked to sour his relationship with the team. Perhaps a fresh start will serve both sides well. Unfortunately for the Mavs however, they will have to wait a while to see their new prized piece in action, as Porzingis is not expected to play for them this season, as he continues to recover from the ACL injury that he suffered last season.