Kristaps Porzingis reportedly met with the New York Knicks on Thursday and left them with the impression that he wants to be traded, and there will be no shortage of teams interested in the former first-round pick.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski lists at least five teams that are expected to reach out to the Knicks about Porzingis prior to next Thursday’s trade deadline.
The Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors are among many teams expected to pursue Kristaps Porzingis in a trade, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 31, 2019
Wojnarowski’s colleague Zach Lowe added that the Spurs should be watched closely.
Keep an extra eye on San Antonio https://t.co/AU85kCb8Yh
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) January 31, 2019
The Spurs are 30-22 and currently the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference. DeMar DeRozan has looked like a great fit with the team, and Gregg Popovich has no reason to feel that San Antonio can’t contend now that Kawhi Leonard is gone.
Porzingis has not played this season as he recovers from a torn ACL, but teams are apparently not concerned about him coming back full strength. The 23-year-old was averaging 22.7 points per game last year before he went down with the knee injury roughly halfway through the season.
The Clippers are 28-23 and have been a surprise in the West this year. They are reportedly planning to go all-out to land at least one star player this offseason, and acquiring Porzingis might help them accomplish that goal. The Heat, Raptors and Nets are also all currently in the playoff hunt, so it makes sense that they are looking to improve at the deadline.
