Phil Jackson may have put all of his eggs into the Kristaps Porzingis when he drafted him as New York Knicks president back in 2015, but after just one year, Jackson was apparently ready to abandon ship.
It seems odd, because Porzingis had a terrific rookie campaign and looked like a superstar in the making, but following that season, Jackson had some concerns about the big man's long-term durability and considered trading him that summer, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post.
Jackson was also a bit worried about Porzingis' strength, as he noticed smaller, stouter players stymying him on post-up attempts. In addition, he wasn't enthralled with the Latvian's balance on his jump shot.
The Zen Master imagined he could swing a deal for two All-Stars and a future piece in a potential Porzingis trade at that time, but he never pulled the trigger.
As poor of a job as Jackson did during his short tenure as Knicks president, he turned out to be mostly right on this one.
Porzingis did, in fact, experience some durability issues very early on in his career, as he tore his ACL midway into his third season, which proved to be the end of his time in New York.
Jackson wasn't around at this point, as he had been fired during the summer of 2017, not long after he had apparently fielded legitimate trade offers on Porzingis.
Then, last January, the Knicks ultimately traded Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks for a light package that was headlined by Dennis Smith Jr., who is struggling to get playing time in New York's thin backcourt rotation this season.
Porzingis will take on the Knicks in Dallas on Friday night.
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