As the days go on and training camp and preseason inch closer one of the biggest remaining questions remains where will Kyrie Irving be playing next season. The All-Star point guard demanded to be traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers weeks ago, but a deal has yet to be made.
Irving reportedly had a list of teams that he would prefer to land with which included the Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, and New York Knicks.
With LeBron James’ future in Cleveland in doubt, the Cavaliers are understandably focused on landing a young star in any Irving deal. One name that they are interested in is Knicks big man Kristaps Porzingis, but according to Steven Marcus and Mike Rose of Newsday, the Knicks aren’t interested in moving him:
The Knicks don’t appear interested in trading Kristaps Porzingis, including a possible deal for Cavaliers All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, according to a league source.
Marcus and Rose would add that the Knicks front office sees Porzingis as a big part of their future and nothing has changed that belief:
“[Knicks president] Steve Mills and [Knicks general manager] Scott Perry on the record were very clear that Kristaps was part of the future,’’ the source said in reference to comments made last month by both executives. “In all the discussions since then — there were other rumors before that Cleveland would want Kristaps — and it didn’t seem that [the Knicks] were interested at all in a conversation.’’
This makes perfect sense for the Knicks as they would undoubtedly want to pair Irving with Porzingis as opposed to getting rid of their talented big man. Porzingis is viewed as one of the league’s rising stars and is the Knicks’ one true future asset.
Pulling off an Irving deal without including Porzingis would be pretty tough without adding in another team. While Carmelo Anthony may be intriguing, there is no guarantee he would wave his no-trade clause, and the Knicks don’t have many other young pieces that would entice Cleveland.