After bidding farewell to the fans, Kristaps Porzingis has been sounding off on social media since the Knicks traded him to the Mavericks Thursday in the deal that shook the NBA world. But his most cryptic message was posted on his Instagram story on Sunday morning:
"The city deserves better than that... My suggestion for Knicks fans is to STAY WOKE!! Peace"
It's not clear what KP is saying the city "deserves better than," nor is it clear why Knicks fans should be staying "woke."
Maybe he is referring to the return the Knicks got for him via trade, when they received two future first-round draft picks. Or maybe he is referring to whatever the Knicks will become now that he's gone -- even if they land two superstars this summer via free agency.
The best player the Knicks got back in the Porzingis trade was Dennis Smith Jr. as New York reportedly pounced quickly without soliciting offers from all the teams that were interested.
But the deal the Knicks swung was for the cap space it created more than anything, and by trading an unhappy Porzingis and dumping the contracts of Tim Hardaway Jr. and Courtney Lee, they now have enough cap space to sign two max players this summer -- with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving at the top of the list.
Porzingis was pissed at the Knicks when they were under Phil Jackson, with his name first showing up in trade rumors back then and him then skipping his exit interview.
Things appeared to be better under the new leadership of Steve Mills and Scott Perry and head coach David Fizdale, who visited Latvia during the offseason to spend time with Porzingis.
But Fizdale said the Knicks had no choice but to trade KP.
"We're trying to build something from the ground up. It doesn't mean that this is for everybody," Fizdale said Friday. "You're trying to build something that everybody feels valued and included and a part of. That's the kind of environment we're trying to create. We want people to be here and build this with us, and unfortunately that wasn't the case."
Another thing Porzingis was reportedly unhappy with was the speed of his ACL surgery rehab, with the Knicks being deliberate. The plan when Porzingis was still a Knick was for him to be re-evaluated in February, with a potential return this season largely determined by what came of that evaluation. But the expectation was that he would most likely not play this season.
Now that Porzingis is in Dallas with the Mavericks, guess what? He probably won't play this season anyway.