Knicks say Kristaps Porzingis did not want to be part of team

The New York Knicks’ trade of Kristaps Porzingis was apparently due to Porzingis not being all-in on the Knicks’ plan moving forward.

Since emerging as a promising rookie in 2015, Porzingis has been viewed as the future of the Knicks and foundation piece they can build around. That all changed on Thursday when New York shipped Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks as part of a six-player trade.

Porzingis met with members of the organization earlier in the day. It was at that time Porzingis expressed he was not in agreement with what the Knicks have in mind for the future.

Steve Mills says in a meeting this morning Kristaps Porzingis made clear he was not on board with the franchise's plan moving forward, and that's why the trade was made.

— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) February 1, 2019

Steve Mills: "We felt Kristaps was a great player and wanted him to be part of our future. But we got a feel he wasn't completely on board with what he wanted to do … he made it clear to us he didn't want to be part of our group."

— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) February 1, 2019

Steve Mills says "I think you should ask KP," when asked why Kristaps Porzingis wasn't on board with the Knicks' plan moving forward.

— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) February 1, 2019

Without Porzingis, who is recovering from an ACL injury, the Knicks have the worst record in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. They are comfortably on their way to a high lottery pick. Shedding Tim Hardaway Jr.’s contract will allow New York to have cap space to add potential star players. The Knicks acted quickly and put themselves in position to accelerate a potential re-build this summer.