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This was never supposed to happen.
Kristaps Porzingis was never supposed to be an opponent of the New York Knicks. He was supposed to be the franchise's next Patrick Ewing, albeit one who could eventually deliver a championship.
Instead, Porzingis is now a member of the Dallas Mavericks and will be facing the Knicks as an enemy on Friday night.
New York traded Porzingis to Dallas midway through last season in a deal headlined by Dennis Smith Jr., who hasn't exactly impressed since the trade.
Meanwhile, Porzingis has formed what looks to be a lethal duo with Luka Doncic in Dallas. While the Mavericks still obviously have a long way to go before they are legitimate title contenders, they have a couple of major pieces in place.
Porzingis' tenure with the Knicks did not exactly end amicably, as the big man tore his ACL midway through the 2017-18 campaign and had not yet returned before asking out of New York last January.
A series of events led to Porzingis ultimately requesting a trade, and while it wasn't all the Knicks' fault (Porzingis needs to shoulder some blame here, as well), you have to think that New York could have potentially patched things up with its Unicorn.
But, no, the Knicks seemed set on opening up enough cap space for a 2019 summer run at Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, something that we now know was a pipe dream all along.
New York ended up with B- and C-level free agents (at best), and Porzingis re-upped with the Mavs on a max deal.
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Porzingis is insisting that he harbors no ill will toward New York, but given his attitude and the way he approaches the game, you can bet that he will be up for Friday night's matchup.
The 24-year-old has been up and down in his first seven games back from his ACL tear, averaging 19.0 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.3 blocks over 32.6 minutes per game while shooting 41.2 percent from the floor, 36.4 percent from 3-point range and 67.6 percent from the free-throw line.
While we are still waiting for Porzingis to put it all together, it's obvious that the supreme talent is there. Once he gets back into a rhythm, he is likely going to be one of the most dangerous players in the NBA.
Expect that to be on full display in this revenge game against the Knicks.
Porzingis will surely want to stick it to New York to show Steve Mills, Scott Perry and Co. that they made a mistake by prioritizing the mere possibility of landing Durant and Irving over the bird in the hand in Porzingis, so a 30-15 type of game would not shock me from the Latvian.
With Mitchell Robinson sidelined due to a concussion, the Knicks don't really have much of an answer for the 7-foot-3 star, so Porzingis may very well end up feasting on New York's thin frontcourt that is mostly made up of undersized tweeners.
Look for a big performance out of Kristaps Porzingis on Friday evening, the type of performance that the Knicks should have been witnessing on a nightly basis for years to come.
