Did the Philadelphia 76ers miss out on Kristaps Porzingis?
Kristaps Porzingis is on the move. Why weren’t the Philadelphia 76ers involved?
TRADE. SZN. Kristaps Porzingis, in relatively unexpected news, is heading to the Dallas Mavericks. The package will send Dennis Smith Jr., Wes Matthews and DeAndre Jordan to New York, while Courtney Lee and Tim Hardaway Jr. will accompany Zinger in Texas.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news shortly after it was revealed Porzingis wanted a trade. It escalated quickly, and now one of the league’s most intriguing young talents is on the move. Dallas will pair two European studs in Porzingis and Luka Doncic.
For pure entertainment purposes, the Porzingis-Doncic pairing is great. The Mavs were already a must-watch LeaguePass team due to Luka alone. Adding Zinger — his debut will probably come next season — only adds to the dynamism of Dallas’ core.
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The Knicks, on the other hand, made another questionable decision. Porzingis, injury history included, is a high-level asset. They’re essentially trading him to move bad contracts. The Knicks could have upward of two max contract slots next summer, but it feels as though Porzingis was undervalued.
It also brings up another question: Why weren’t the Philadelphia 76ers involved?
It’s clear New York and Porzingis were trending apart. If the skilled 7-footer was on the market, the Sixers should have at least inquired. It’s clear Dallas didn’t offer the juiciest package in return, so Philadelphia had the assets.
The value — for New York at least — wasn’t necessarily rooted in the players coming back, though. Both Jordan and Matthews are potential buyout candidates. It was about the draft capital and cap space.
Heading into next summer, the Knicks could have up to $74.6 million in available cap space. That’s enough for Kevin Durant and another max free agent. If KD signs and convinces another star to join him, that justifies the move. Some will point to the potential Kyrie Irving–Jimmy Butler pairing as well.
New York, smart or not, is going all-out on free agency. They’ll continue stockpiling young assets — Kevin Knox, Dennis Smith and a possible No. 1 pick are intriguing — but the main goal seems to be getting a star in the Big Apple.
The Sixers, in that instance, were wise to avoid the Porzingis sweepstakes. Even with his upside, the fit next to Joel Embiid isn’t the cleanest. The Sixers would also surrender cap flexibility by acquiring Hardaway and Lee.
To some degree a Markelle Fultz, Wilson Chandler and Mike Muscala package makes sense. When you factor in defensive concerns, Porzingis’ health issues and the Sixers’ surrendering of cap space, though, it probably wasn’t the best fit at the best time. Elton Brand is wise to let someone else take that risk, especially with Zinger planning to sign his qualifying offer next summer.
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The Sixers should aim high on the trade market — hello, potential fourth stars — but Porzingis doesn’t quite fit given the circumstances.