Jay Williams, a former NBA player and a close confidant of Kevin Durant, believes the New York Knicks' sudden decision to trade Kristaps Porzingis hurt their quest for landing the two-time Finals MVP in free agency.

The Knicks were favored to be his best destination even before the franchise opened up two max slots to pair Durant with a player of his preference, but according to Williams, Durant had already envisioned pairing up with the 7-foot-3 marksman:

“Who gave Porzingis the nickname, the Unicorn? (Durant did),” Williams said on a podcast with ESPN’s Zach Lowe (via Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News). “Do you not think that was one of the attractive pieces he saw? Like, ‘Wow. Wow, together, this is what it can be together. Together, potentially.’”

Durant had praised Porzingis' skill set plenty of times, noting his unique quick trigger and ability to space himself correctly while being able to shoot it effortlessly with a considerable height advantage:

“Seeing a guy that’s 7-foot-3 being able to shoot so effortlessly — usually guys take a while to get their jump shot off from the 3-point line,” Durant said. “He has a quick trigger from deep. That’s rare to see at that height.”

Rarely have two players who have weaponized shooting over the top of defenders gotten the chance to play together, perhaps not since Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess with the Detroit Pistons of the mid-2000s. Yet neither of them were such high-profile players who could go off for 20 or more every night.

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Williams noted Durant was likely insulted after seeing the Knicks were not prepared to offer him a max contract despite his recent injury, something every other franchise recruiting him was more than ready to do:

“If I’m Kevin Durant, I’m sitting back and saying, ‘Oh, so if I wanted to go to New York, you guys weren’t going to take me?’” Williams said. “I think players see stuff like that. Players talk all the time.”

Ultimately, Durant hurt the Knicks where it pains them the most, going to their inter-borough rival Brooklyn Nets, snatching Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan on the way on his quest to take New York by storm.