Phil Jackson has made it pretty clear in his zen-master way that the Knicks are open and willing to trade 21-year-old budding star and NBA Unicorn (shout out to Bill Simmons) Kristaps Porzingis, “if it is better for the organization.”
As one can imagine, these kinds of players at this age aren’t available very often, if ever, so the initial reaction from much of the NBA was to reach out to the Knicks and see what it would take to land Porzingis.
The answer apparently is a lot, like virtually every major asset you have.
Thus far, rumors have surfaced of the demands that the Knicks have made in order to acquire Kristaps.
Here is the deal Phil demanded from the Suns for Porzingis a few days ago according to 98.7 Arizona Sports Reporter John Gambodoro:
Knicks have asked for Devin Booker and the #4 pick from Phoenix for Kristaps Porzingis – Ha Ha Ha. He is good but trust me not that good
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) June 20, 2017
Booker for Porzingis straight up would seem like a fair deal, but the Suns trading their two best assets for Porzingis seems like a lateral move at best.
The demands from the Celtics may be even higher for Porzingis:
The Knicks want the No. 3 Pick, Jaylen Brown, Jae Crowder, and their 2018 1st Round pick from Brooklyn for Kristaps Porzingis (@NYDailyNews)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) June 22, 2017
So essentially the Knicks would trade their starting forwards, one of them being the No. 3 pick of the 2016 NBA Draft in Jaylen Brown and likely two other top 3 picks in 2017 and 2018. That is too much to pay for Porzingis.
Too me all these rumors are fun and good hypothetical scenarios, but all of the Porzingis trade chatter really seems to be much ado about nothing.
Expect him to be in a New York Knicks uniform next season.
