Knicks-Mavs get the NBA trade market rolling

The New York Knicks sent away their franchise cornerstone in Kristaps Porziņģis to the Dallas Mavericks Thursday. New York also parted ways with Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee and Trey Burke. In return, they received Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews and two future first round picks.

Porziņģis met with the Knicks Thursday and requested a trade. Within a few hours he had been traded to Dallas. I have never held a position with any sports franchise, but this seems highly unusual. Usually when a player requests a trade, the team waits days or weeks to hear all offers and decide what to do, and sometimes they don’t do anything at all. It took the Knicks only a few hours to abandon ship and trade away their most promising player.

Knicks outlook

For the Knicks, the main motivation behind the trade was to free up cap space for the upcoming offseason. Tim Hardaway Jr. is under contract until 2020, with a player option in 2021, averaging a salary of over $18 million. Courtney Lee is under contract for one more season after this one, in which he will earn $12.8 million. On the other side of the trade, Dennis Smith Jr. is still on his rookie contract, and DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews enter free agency this season.

The Knicks are hoping to sign two players to max contracts this offseason. Some of the biggest names in free agency this offseason will be Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler and Klay Thompson. Of those five, I believe the Knicks have the best chance to sign Kawhi Leonard. When Leonard was traded, it was believed that he wanted to land in a bigger market, such as Los Angeles, Philadelphia or New York. Playing for the Knicks would give him that opportunity. If the Knicks can’t attract any players in free agency, they’re going to be seriously terrible.

Mavericks outlook

On the other side of the trade, the Mavericks received an all-star caliber player, who they hope will sign with the team in two years after the qualifying offer next year. The hope is that Porziņģis develops chemistry with fellow European teammate Luka Dončić, and that Dirk Nowitzki will mentor him. Porziņģis and Nowitzki already have an established relationship. They have communicated in the past and have played together before. Porziņģis has been compared to Nowitzki ever since he became a draft prospect. Both players are from Europe, over 7-feet tall and can shoot the ball from anywhere on the floor. One main difference between the two is their respective shot-blocking abilities. Porziņģis has averaged over two blocks per game for his career, while Nowitzki has never averaged more than 1.5 in a single season.

The Mavericks have announced that Porziņģis probably won’t return to action this season, which means two things. First, it means the Mavericks organization is being especially cautious with his development and that they’re heavily invested in him. Porziņģis went down with a torn ACL nearly a year ago and has been recovering ever since. The fact that the Mavericks are taking their time with his recovery shows Porziņģis that he is important to the organization and is the first step in convincing him to re-sign in two seasons. Second, it means the Mavericks will likely be in the lottery once again next season, allowing them to accumulate even more young talent on their already young roster.

The Knicks-Mavs trade was just the first of many trades that will unfold this week. The NBA trade deadline is Thursday, Feb. 7.