The New York Knicks have been bad for a very, very long time. For a while, though, things were looking up.
The Knicks’ 10-40 record is proof of a stellar tank job, meaning that they are putting themselves in the mix to draft Duke's Zion Williamson in the summer, and until recently the team also had enough cap space to add a max contract-level player in the off-season.
But in less than an hour, the team’s management messed that all up. After a meeting with franchise player Kristaps Porzingis, in which the injured star reportedly shared his frustration with the Knicks' losing culture, the once-great team traded the power forward and a few other role players to the Dallas Mavericks for peanuts.
Latvian Porzingis, a highly regarded player often referred to as a “unicorn,” who was named a 2018 All-Star until he ruptured his ACL in February 2018, will team up with 19-year-old Slovenian star Luka Doncic in the Lone Star State. The Knicks, meanwhile, have temporarily improved their team with the additions of DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews, endangering their tank for the top draft pick in this year’s NBA Draft.
Expiring contracts obtained in the trade opens up cap space to sign free agents in the summer, but the trade has left the team in an all too well-known limbo, with no guarantee that top free agents will want to come to NYC.
Predictably, Twitter lost it upon hearing about the trade. Players and fans alike responded online. Scroll through the best of the reactions below.
A minority blamed Porzingis for demanding a trade
Others accused the Knicks of mismanagement
Some, however, held out hope for a better future
NBA players had their say
The general consensus appears to be that the Knicks got fleeced and gave up a franchise player who was supposed to be the cornerstone of championships for years to come. All for a non-guaranteed chance at signing top free agents in the summer.
