Despite the current conundrum the New York Knicks have found themselves in of late, head coach David Fizdale is still a firm believer of the team's bright future ahead. So much so, that the veteran coach has gone out to say that he thinks the Knicks potentially still have the opportunity to come out as the winners of the Kristaps Porzingis trade with the Dallas Mavericks last season.
https://twitter.com/SBondyNYDN/status/1192665856704163840
In January last year, the Knicks turned a page in their franchise history books by trading away former cornerstone superstar Kristaps Porzingis — who apparently wanted to move on from his time in The Big Apple — to the Mavs. Along with Porzingis, New York also dealt away Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Courtney Lee to the Mavs, who in exchange, sent DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews, the aforementioned Dennis Smith Jr., and two future first-round picks to the Knicks.
Both Jordan and Matthews have since parted ways with New York, with Smith being the only remaining active asset from the KP deal. For his part, Smith has had a very rocky start to the new season, with the 21-year-old averaging just 8.7 minutes per contest in three appearances for the Knicks. The former ninth overall pick is currently dealing with a loss in his family and has missed the team's past five games, so hopefully, he will be much better once he eventually makes his return.
With regards to the two future draft picks, however, Fizdale does make a very valid point. Both picks have the potential to become very valuable assets for the Knicks in the near future, so in this respect, we definitely see where coach Fizdale is coming from with his statement here.