Clippers forward Marcus Morris visited the garden for Sunday’s matinee on the two-year anniversary of the Kristaps Porzingis trade. Morris has now been added to the Porzingis trade analysis.
Thank you, Immanuel Quickley.
It was Morris’ first garden visit since receiving West last February. He comes in as a banker for the Clippers, supporting Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
Morris was the number 1 point option during the Knicks debacle for 2019-2020.
While Porzingis ‘Mavericks are in a dangerous slide, Morris’ presence is another symbol that the Porzingis campaign two years ago is not the disaster as previously reported.
With the departure of the season, the Knicks front office debated fiercely whether he would trade Morris or keep him and try to sign him again.
It looks like they made the right call and handed Morris over to the Clippers for the 27th pick. It became the 25th choice and was changed to Quickley. The newcomer sensation makes the organization wonder if they have their starting point of the future – if not the present.
The Knicks would not have signed a $ 15 million deal with Morris in the summer of 2019 without trading Porzingis.
That change of narrative is striking, given the shortcomings of point guard Dennis Smith Jr., who the Knicks decided to place in the G-League bubble, with coach Tom Thibodeau currently having no use for the lottery of Mavericks in 2017.
But even with the death of Smith, the trade looks much better. Porzingis’ Mavericks have lost five in a row and lost eight of their last ten games to 8-12.
If the season ended today, the Knicks would be selected 11th in the lottery courtesy of the Mavericks. The Mavericks gave the Knicks an unprotected pick from 2021 and for the first time in 2023. The Knicks drew level for No. 8 on Sunday, but there is still a chance they have two lotteries for the 2021 draft.
The worrying part of losing to the Mavericks is that Doncic looks fed up and asks if his teammates want to win.
“Terrible,” Doncic said. “There really is not much to say. I never felt that way. We have to do something because it does not look good and we have to act and just talk to each other and play better than that. It’s mostly effort. … I would say now that I honestly do not care if we win matches or not. ‘
When the trade took place in Porzingis, some league insiders were a little worried because they knew the egos of Doncic and Porzingis. The Mavericks were not on Janis Porzingis’ wish list he gave to Steve Mills – perhaps because they knew the Mavericks already had a franchise.
The Porzingis brothers were tough in the eyes of Steve Mills and Scott Perry, Knicks, and they tried to reduce their losses before he became a limited free agent.
The extra cap space the trade offers has not caught up with their two big fish – Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. But that caught up with Julius Randle and Morris. They did not make a perfect forward last season, but Randle played much better once Morris was sent off in February.
This season, Randle exploded and deserves the All-Star consideration of putting the Knicks to a 9-11 start after 20 games entering the Clippers game. Randle (26) averaged 22.2 points, 11.1 rebounds and six assists.
Smith’s journey went in the opposite direction. “The G-League is a very valuable tool,” Thibodeau said Sunday before facing the Clippers. ‘You see it’s being used more and more in almost every team in the league. You get a lot of practice, but playing time is important. I think it will be great for him. His attitude was very positive. ”
Smith, says the Knicks, requested the move. Ironically, The Post reported that Craig Robinson, the former development director of the former player, wanted to place Smith in the G-League last season, but Perry rejected the idea. Sources say Perry was afraid Smith’s representatives would get angry.
Smith has been relegated to two garbage-related schemes since returning from a four-man injury in the first week of January. Earlier this week, Thibodeau mentioned his options at point guard, but Smith did not mention.
When Thibodeau was appointed, he promised to use the G-League more liberally. Smith is now going to the bubble where other teams can see him play, and maybe his trade value will increase.
Meanwhile, Porzingis, who is 25 and missed the first nine games after knee surgery, averaged 18.6 points, eight rebounds and less than one assist per game. The Latvian 7-3 has never been such a good passer-by as advertised from the 2015 draft.
Since Obi Toppin of the rookie lottery is not sure it will stand out, the Knicks are looking at Randle through a new lens – not as a trade bait. The question is how Dallas Porzingis sees now.