Twitter went crazy Tuesday morning due to an atomic Woj-bomb involving the New York Knicks, Phil Jackson, and former No. 4 overall pick Kristaps Porzingis:
Sources: As teams become aware Phil Jackson isn’t ruling out possibility of trading Kristaps Porzingis, frenzy of interest is growing today.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) June 20, 2017
From there, things escalated quickly. Woj reported that Phil met with draft prospect Lauri Markkanen – a player the Knicks could potentially select at No. 8 and that would be viewed as a “replacement” for Porzingis:
Sources: Phil Jackson met with Lauri Markkanen in New York on Monday, a player whom he’s considering at No. 8 should Knicks move Porzingis. https://t.co/44d8EqMoBm
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) June 20, 2017
New York is apparently also enamored with Kansas’ Josh Jackson, but they would presumably have to trade up to get him:
FWIW regarding NYK/Porzingis trades, the Knicks love Kansas’ Josh Jackson, as Ramona Shelburne said: https://t.co/aZaQ9ufvnp
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) June 20, 2017
When I did my tiers piece a little less than half the teams had Jackson in Tier 1. Knicks were one of those teams. https://t.co/coLY4VxDYZ
— Chad Ford (@chadfordinsider) June 20, 2017
Amid the chaos, Kristaps’ brother Janis told ESPN that KP wants to stay in New York:
Janis Porzingis, Kristaps’ brother, to ESPN: “Despite how the Knicks are treating their players, Kris wants to stay in New York.” More: https://t.co/xiHz2X5GwY
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) June 20, 2017
It’s two days before the draft and rumors are already insane. Stay glued to SLAM for more updates.
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