The Dallas Mavericks knew about Kristaps Porzingis' rape allegations before acquiring him from the New York Knicks during the February trade deadline.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Knicks informed the Mavs about the pending rape accusation against the Latvian star before finalizing the deal that would send him to Dallas.
On the February trade call to finalize the Dallas-New York deal, the Knicks informed the Mavericks of the pending rape allegation against Kristaps Porzingis, league sources tell ESPN. The league office had been previously made aware of the allegations.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 31, 2019
Despite the issue, the Mavs still pushed through the deal. Dallas traded Dennis Smith Jr., Wesley Matthews, DeAndre Jordan and two first-round picks in 2021 and 2023 in exchange for Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee and Trey Burke.
Mavs owner Mark Cuban has refused to comment on the issue, citing instructions from federal authorities. Meanwhile, Porzingis' camp denied the allegations and said they already “made a formal referral to federal law enforcement on Dec. 20, 2018, based on the accuser's extortionate demands.”
The investigation is still ongoing and more details are expected to come out soon as authorities deal with the issue.
Porzingis is yet to play for the Mavs, as he was never expected to suit up for the team when they acquired him two months ago. He suffered an ACL tear last year which sidelined him this 2018-19 campaign.
A one-time All-Star, Kristaps has career averages of 17.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 2.0 blocks per game. He was having a career year with Knicks in 2017-18, putting up 22.7 points before getting injured.
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