Knicks Insist Trading Kristaps Porzingis Was Their Idea

The trade of Kristaps Porzingis was inevitable once the player told Knicks staff that he wasn’t committed to the team. That’s according to Knicks president Steve Mills, who spoke to the media about the blockbuster trade on Thursday night.

Steve Mills asserts that the franchise allowed Kristaps Porzingis to leave once a trade request was submitted. He added that it was the right thing to do if a player isn’t on board with the team’s future plans.

“We feel like we did the right thing,” Mills said.

“When you try to think about how you want to build your team for the long term, you don’t want to commit a max [contract] to a player who clearly says to you he doesn’t want to be here. That would be a disservice for our organization and disservice to our fans.”

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However, in some classic NBA social media tit-for-tat, Kristaps Porzingis responded on Instagram. A short and sweet post saying ‘the truth will come out :)’ appeared on his story before being deleted.

The eagerness of Knicks officials to frame the trade as their idea and Porzingis’ response suggest some acrimony between them. Perhaps the arrangement was not as friendly or mutual as is being reported.

One thing is certain. Porzingis told the Knicks on Thursday morning that he “no longer wanted to be a part of” the group. Afterwards, the trade was completed rather quickly.

As consolation, the Knicks receive Dennis Smith Jr, Wesley Matthews and DeAndre Jordan.

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Although the deal happened quickly on the day, New York had been preparing to lose Porzingis for a few days. Knicks general manager Scott Perry explains:

“When the meeting occurred this morning, we’d already been having many conversations with a number of teams,” Perry said.

“So we decided to act upon one.”