Sportsbooks Were Offering -500 Odds Porzingis Would Remain a Knick Before Deal with Mavericks
- Knicks All-Star Kristaps Porzingis has been dealt to the Mavericks in a mega deal
- Porzingis has yet to play a game this season as he recovers from a torn ACL
- The trade comes just hours after a heated meeting with Knicks brass in New York
Well, that was certainly fast.
Kristaps Porzingis was dealt to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday afternoon less than an hour after sportsbooks posted -500 odds predicting the disgruntled forward would remain in New York.
New York has agreed with Dallas on trade that includes Kristaps Porzingis, Courtney Lee, Tim Hardaway Jr., for Wesley Matthews, Dennis Smith Jr. and DeAndre Jordan, league sources tell ESPN. Players and agents are being notified of particulars. Deal may include more draft assets.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 31, 2019
Sportsbooks were so convinced that Porzingis was staying put that they didn’t even list Dallas as a possible destination. The teams that did merit consideration were the Pelicans, Celtics, and Suns at +700, and the Lakers at +900.
Where Will Kristaps Porzingis Play Game 1 of the 2019-20 Season
| Player | Odds (01/31/19) |
|---|---|
| New York Knicks | -500 |
| New Orleans Pelicans | +700 |
| Phoenix Suns | +700 |
| Boston Celtics | +700 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | +900 |
Porzingis, who has yet to play this season as he recovers from a torn ACL, had become fed up with his team’s lackluster performance, and sat down with management on Thursday morning to express his growing frustration. The 23-year-old All-Star reportedly vented about the team’s past dysfunction and repeatedly questioned whether the Knicks could turn things around in the near future.
Reporting with @ZachLowe and @RamonaShelburne: In meeting with management today, Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis expressed his concern with the losing, franchise direction and an uncertainty that a culture is developing that will enable sustainable organizational success.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 31, 2019
Knicks brass clearly felt a resolution could not be reached and traded Porzingis soon after to the Mavericks for a package including guards Wesley Matthews, Dennis Smith Jr. and All-Star center DeAndre Jordan. It was a wild turn of events that few, including the oddsmakers, could have predicted.
It’s unclear whether Porzingis will suit up for the Mavs this season, but if he does he should former a killer one-two punch with rookie sensation Luka Doncic. The 19-year-old forward leads Dallas in points and steals per game, and is second in rebounds, assists, and minutes played. He possesses an uncanny feel for the game for a player his age and should combine seamlessly with Porzingis to form one of the league’s most lethal pick-and-roll tandems.
Luka Doncic, are you kidding me? pic.twitter.com/mAhw6b6Sl2
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) January 28, 2019
For the Knicks, the deal represents another failure in a season full of them. New York has lost 19 of its last 20 games and now finds itself dead last in the NBA. Smith and Jordan are both useful pieces, but their arrivals amount to too little, too late for the league’s most hapless team.
Ryan worked as an Editor and resident Lead NBA and MLB Writer for SB from 2017-19. He has authored his own weekly columns for Fox Sports and AskMen, and has created successful campaigns for the WWE, the NHL, and the NFL. Ryan's critically acclaimed stories have been published in 20 books.
