When the Knicks traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Mavericks on Thursday it signaled to the rest of the NBA that New York was going all in on attempting to acquire both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving this summer. One alternative theory is that the Knicks want to get out ahead of this summer and land Irving in a trade now. The Celtics obviously weren’t too keen on trading for Porzingis, but they are certainly interested in landing Anthony Davis as those rumors head up as well.
The only way that the Celtics could land Davis in a trade now is if they trade Irving. Boston turned in one if its more impressive performances of the season Wednesday night with Irving on the bench and there is growing sentiment that the mercurial point guard might not be a great fit in head coach Brad Stevens’ system.
A three-way trade between the Knicks, Celtics and Pelicans makes a ton of sense for all three parties with New York landing Irving, Boston landing Davis and the Pelicans landing a boatload of young assets and picks. This three-way swap was actually brought up several weeks back by veteran NBA reporter Chris Sheridan, who has been tied-in to all things Davis for several years.
Thursday’s Knicks – Mavericks blockbuster seemingly came out of nowhere and there are rumblings that this is the first in a series of trades that could alter the NBA. FOX Sports’ Nick Wright tweeted late Thursday afternoon that he was “hearing there might be one more surprise the NBA has up its sleeve for us tonight.”
With the NBA trade deadline just days away, rumors are going to be flying.
As for the above trade, the Knicks would make out quite well as they would already have Irving in the fold. Irving, who has expressed the desire to play in New York and play with Durant in the past, could be the one to lure Durant to Madison Square Garden this summer. Porzingis simply wasn’t going to cut it in the Durant recruiting process. Irving would.
The Celtics would have to pay up when it comes to young players and picks as Davis isn’t going to come on the cheap. Boston would likely have to move all of its draft capital as well as Jayson Tatum in a potential Davis deal.
As of now, it doesn’t seem like Jaylen Brown would cut it in terms of the Pelicans getting back what it expects in trading away an MVP caliber player.
