In justifying his ban of the Daily News, James Dolan provided one example of the coverage.
?The Porzingis trade,? the owner said on ESPN Radio. ?Those guys are like, ?Another horrible thing.? It actually wasn?t a horrible thing. And they knew it. They don?t care.?
Today (surprise, surprise), that trade serves as the biggest indictment of another plan gone to the graveyard. The Knicks, as the News wrote the day they ditched Porzingis for cap space, are a Ponzi scheme. They peddle hope, they sell hypotheticals, and they always fail at the task in front of their face.
The Porzingis trade, despite what the Knicks will tell you tomorrow, was about signing Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. They attached two albatross contracts to Porzingis in that trade ? including one Steve Mills had issued to Tim Hardaway Jr. ? because they were arrogant enough to believe winning didn?t matter in chasing free agents. They acted as if development and allure could be simply spoken into existence.
They spent two years talking about what the Nets were actually doing.
In the end, Mills didn?t even get a meeting. Durant and Irving clearly wanted to live in New York City, and they chose the Nets before free agency started. As ESPN reported, the Knicks either didn?t speak to Durant or only had a conference call. In other words, a two-year plan ended with maybe, perhaps, a phone call.
The Knicks had hired Durant?s buddy, Royal Ivey, as an assistant coach, and rolled out the red carpet for another of KD?s good friends, DeAndre Jordan. They touted their new coach, David Fizdale, as a key to attracting the biggest of superstars.
Then the day of reckoning arrived, and Knicks agreed to terms with Julius Randle and Taj Gibson. The Nets? haul consisted of Durant, Irving, and even Jordan. The Knicks are forever the bridesmaid, never the bride.
Things haven't changed much from the time New York Knicks fans were wearing bags over their heads as a display of shame in 2015.
Things haven't changed much from the time New York Knicks fans were wearing bags over their heads as a display of shame in 2015. (Elsa/Getty Images)
It wasn?t about the money for Durant because Golden State could offer the most. It certainly wasn?t about the location. It was about one franchise, the Nets, being in a better position than the Knicks.
Dolan looks like the fool, and predictably the aftermath narrative was that the Knicks were unwilling to give Durant a max contract because of his injury. That?d be understandable, even commendable, but it?s also not believable. Durant is the gamble the Knicks were always willing to take, and the post-mortem ?we didn?t want him anyway? spin feels icky. Just more pettiness. If Durant wanted the Knicks, it would?ve happened no matter the price. It would?ve given the Knicks another press conference and they?re great at winning press conferences.
Instead, the Nets will tout their big victory ? and their big gamble on Durant?s fragile Achilles ? while the Knicks are left pumping up their acquisition of Randle for $63 million.
It was the owner ? not Mills ? who confidently declared the Knicks would have a successful free agency. But Dolan was simply relaying what he heard, and he listens to Mills more than anybody else in the organization. Sixteen years ago, it was on Mills? recommendation that Isiah Thomas became coach of the Knicks.
Two years ago, Mills usurped Phil Jackson as team president by convincing Dolan he could change the perception of the Knicks.
That was never a harder sell than Sunday when Mills, empty-handed, was essentially apologizing to fans.
?While we understand that some Knicks fans could be disappointed with tonight?s news, we continue to be upbeat,? Mills said in a statement, ?and confident in our plans to rebuild the Knicks to compete for championships in the future, through the draft, targeted free agents and continuing to build around our core of young players.?
Mills inherited one star player, Porzingis, but couldn?t get the Latvian to believe the Knicks were headed in the right direction. That?s another indictment on Mills.
Like Durant and Irving, Porzingis wanted New York. He just didn?t want the Knicks.
The 23-year-old demanded a trade in January and listed the Nets as a preference. On Sunday, he turned that trade into a four-year, $158 million deal with the Mavericks, proving that a team not on Porzingis? list could sell him on a future.
(NY Daily News)