Hours after reports surfaced of his concern with the team's future, the Knicks are moving on from All-Star forward Kristaps Porzingis.
New York has reached an agreement to send the 7-foot-3 forward to Dallas in a deal that will include several players, including second-year guard Dennis Smith, Jr, the team announced today.
The team has acquired guard Dennis Smith Jr., center DeAndre Jordan, guard/forward Wesley Matthews and two future first round draft picks from Dallas in exchange for forward Kristaps Porzingis, and guards Tim Hardaway Jr., Trey Burke and Courtney Lee.
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) January 31, 2019
Porzingis, who was selected fourth overall in the 2015 NBA Draft, has not played since suffering a torn ACL on Feb. 6, 2018. The 23-year-old has averages of 17.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in 186 career games.
He was selected for the 2018 All-Star Game after posting averages of 22.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks while shooting 39.5 percent from 3-point range before the injury.
Smith, the No. 9 selection in the 2017 NBA Draft, is averaging 12.9 points, 4.3 assists and 1.3 steals through 32 games this season. The trade was made less than a day after the 21-year-old recorded the second triple-double of his career in a Mavericks win over the Knicks.
Hardaway Jr., is averaging 19.1 points per game this season to lead the Knicks in scoring. The 6-foot-6 guard is in the second year of a four-year $71 million contract he signed with New York in the 2017 offseason.
Courtney Lee, who also has two years remaining on his contract, has only appeared in 12 games this season for the Knicks, averaging 4.7 points in just 13.3 minutes per game. Trey Burke, the ninth pick in the 2013 draft, is averaging 11.8 points and 2.8 assists in 20.9 minutes per game.
The contracts of both DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews are expiring this season, but have produced for the Mavs this season. Jordan, who signed a one-year $22.9 million contract with Dallas in the summer of 2017, is averaging 11.0 points and 13.7 rebounds per game while shooting 64.4 percent from the field.
Matthews, who is in the final year of a four-year $70 million contract signed in 2015, is averaging 13.1 points and shooting 38.5 percent from 3-point range this season.