NBA Twitter was sent into a frenzy after it was announced that the New York Knicks were trading Kristaps Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks. The trade shuffled Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Courtney Lee to the Mavs in exchange for young point guard Dennis Smith Jr. and expiring contracts in DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews.
Many Knick fans had high hopes of a career cementing Kristaps Porzingis into Knicks history, with him bringing winning basketball to Madison Square Garden. However, the exact opposite was true, as Porzingis fell victim to what has been quite a trend for New York, per Jared Dubin of Patreon.com.
Charlie Ward was the last Knicks draft pick to sign a second deal with the team for longer than 1 year. He was drafted when I was 7. I'm 30.
— Yaya Dubin (@JADubin5) June 20, 2017
This is very troubling for a team that has had as much potential as the Knicks have had over the years. In almost a quarter century, the Knickerbockers have failed to re-sign any of the players they initially drafted. Many of these players are still in the league and have played important roles on teams.
The team drafted Nene Hilario with the seventh overall pick in 2002 and he is still in the league for his 16th season. He even saw plenty of meaningful time with the Denver Nuggets.
In 2004, Trevor Ariza was selected 43rd overall by New York and was a big part of the Houston Rockets journey to the Western Conference Finals just last season. Danilo Gallinari was picked at six by the Knicks in 2008, but they ended up trading him for Carmelo Anthony. Gallinari is now the go-to offensive option of the playoff-chasing LA Clippers.
Most hilarious is their 2013 first year selection of Tim Hardaway Jr., who they sent to the Atlanta Hawks, only to later sign him to a contract so pricey that the Hawks chose not to match the offer sheet. Hardaway was then included in the Porzingis deal in order to dump the salary.
It has been a rough span of time for Knicks fans, but with the number one pick in the upcoming draft in their sights, they are desperately hoping this front office can finally get it right very soon.