The Dallas Mavericks recently acquired Kristaps Porzingis in a trade with the New York Knicks. On paper, this is a gamble for the Mavs, as Porzingis is still recovering from a torn ACL he suffered last season. Team owner Mark Cuban has already stated that the four-year veteran will not play for Dallas this season.
But the Mavs seem to be very high on Porzingis as they believe teaming him up with Luka Doncic will help the team find more success for the long-term.
In order to get the deal done, the Mavs reportedly had to take the bad contracts of Courtney Lee and Tim Hardaway Jr., which they did, and that sealed the agreement, according to the New York Times' Marc Stein.
When the Mavs told them they were willing to take them on because they wanted Porzingis that badly, that’s what really clinched this trade. The Mavs took on a lot of extra money but they believe that Porzingis will bounce back from this injury. I like the dice roll. With Luka Doncic and Porzingis, I like the potential with that duo.
The Knicks needed to get rid of Lee and Hardaway's contracts in order to free up cap space, as they are expected to be major players in this summer's free agency. They will reportedly go after the Golden State Warriors' Kevin Durant and the Boston Celtics' Kyrie Irving, who are both expected to test the market.
Both Lee and Hardaway signed four-year deals in the past, with the former in the third year of his contract, while the latter in his second. It is uncertain what the Mavs' plans are for both players, but their main goal was to get Porzingis, and that's what they were able to accomplish.
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