The NYPD is reportedly investigating a claim by a woman who says former Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis raped her merely hours after he suffered his torn ACL against the Bucks back on Feb. 7, 2018. 

The allegations, which cops say are "credible" according to The Post, detail Porzingis inviting the woman back to his luxury apartment at the Sky building in Midtown West Manhattan, which she agreed to. When they entered the apartment, the woman claims Porzingis held her down and raped her. 

It was discussed that Porzingis was going to offer $68,000 to pay for the woman's brother's college tuition to keep her quiet. However, that fell through. The woman admitted that she kept quiet this long because of the money Porzingis had promised. 

It has nearly been a month since the Knicks traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Mavericks in the biggest blockbuster deal of the NBA trade deadline. And though Porzingis hasn't talked about the whole situation yet, he did talk about wanting to get back on the court. 

The 7-foot-3 Latvian is still working his way back to game action, and he has been seen down in Dallas working on his jumper and post moves with trainers as his rehab continues. Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle has said that Porzingis won't be suiting up as the regualr season comes to a close, but that doesn't mean the All-Star doesn't think he is ready to go.

"I feel healthy, I feel great," Porzingis said at Mavericks practice on Wednesday. "I'm antsy to get back on the court as soon as possible and I know I'm ready. So we'll see, I don't know."

On the same day Knicks owner James Dolan stumbled through a radio interview, Kristaps Porzingis threw some shade at his former club.

During a television interview Tuesday night with TNT, Porzingis -- who was traded to the Dallas on Jan. 31 -- praised the Mavericks organization and painted it as a more stable environment than the one he had been in with the Knicks.

"There's a culture. You can feel that," Porzingis said. "Guys like Dirk (Nowitzki,) like JJ (Barea,) they've built that culture and they're a really important part of this organization. Just seeing all those great personalities being in this organization, being a part of this culture, makes me want to be a part of it."

When Kristaps Porzingis was traded to the Mavericks before the NBA trade deadline, it sent shockwaves through the NBA as the Knicks sent away their face of the franchise. But the Knicks stated that Porzingis wanted to be traded, saying he was unhappy in New York. 

Speaking on ESPN's "The Michael Kay Show" on Tuesday to discuss the incident this weekend at MSG regarding a Knicks fan, Knicks owner James Dolan also touched on the Porzingis traded briefly as well. Though he didn't want to speak for Porzingis, who still hasn't discussed his "stay woke" comment or told his side of the story since the trade, Dolan said the Latvian big man basically left the team no choice.

"I thought our guys tried really hard to integrate him in our system," Dolan said. "I don't want to put words into his mouth. When he came in and said to us, 'I wanted to be traded' that sort of cast the dye on what we had to do."

If the majority of Knicks fans had their way regarding this summer's free agency class, then both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant would be wearing Knicks jerseys to begin next season. 

But count Charles Barkley as a vocal dissenter to either playing under the bright lights of Broadway.

The Turner analyst told reporters Tuesday, according to Sports Illustrated's Jimmy Traina, that he would advise Durant that he's not tough enough to play in New York. Barkley also said the same applied for Irving. 

Kristaps Porzingis made his return to New York on Monday, but it wasn't at Madison Square Garden. Instead, it was further downtown in Brooklyn where his new Mavericks squad was beaten badly by the Nets. And as the game ended, Porzingis was swift to leave the Barclays Center court as he didn't want to answer any questions regarding his departure from the Knicks last month.

After the shocking blockbuster deal just before the NBA trade deadline between the Mavs and Knicks, Porzingis left by telling Knicks fans know to "stay woke." This statement on his Instagram came after the Knicks' comments about how Porzingis was unhappy and forced the team's hand to trade him. Porzingis has yet to address any of this since shipping out to Dallas. 

Instead, Porzingis' new teammates and head coach answered for him, but one teammate that was shipped to Dallas with him in Tim Hardaway Jr. knows the Knicks made a big mistake. 

The Dallas Mavericks visit the Brooklyn Nets where Tim Hardaway Jr. will make his return to New York. Kristaps Porzingis, meanwhile, continues to sit out the remainder of the season. 

The summer of 2010 was going to be the Knicks' summer. 

Finally. 

After years -- make that decades -- of bloated payroll and anemic win totals, things were going to change. The change started in 2008 with the hiring of former Pacers exec Donnie Walsh, who made it his top priority to clear cap space, something the Knicks had never done in the era of free agency. He dealt Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph, the team's two top scorers, in the season's first month, with the focus firmly on the summer of 2010, when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Amaré Stoudemire would all be free agents. The big-ticket guys always talked about how much they loved playing in Madison Square Garden -- now one, or even two, of them could make the World's Most Famous arena their home for max money.

Well, we all know what happened next.

Pelicans star Anthony Davis has requested a trade, informing the team he has no interest in re-signing. With news of Davis wanting out came reports that the Knicks have strong interest in trading for him. Here are the latest rumors...

Feb. 16, 12:25 PM:

With All-Star Weekend underway in Charlotte, Davis told the Daily News' Stefan Bondy he is "focused on winning on this point of my career and wherever that may be." So why would he want the Knicks to be on his desired list?

After the Knicks traded Latvian forward Kristaps Porzingis two weeks ago, the team apparently is trying to distance itself from him so much that it doesn't feel the need to host Latvian Heritage Night.

The Knicks will no longer be holding the event, according to The Athletic. The celebration was originally scheduled for Feb. 24 when the Knicks host the Spurs.

The Brooklyn Nets have been a pleasant surprise in the NBA this season. Seen as a team looking on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, the Nets find themselves in sixth place in the East (29-27), just a few hours before the NBA's trade deadline. 

The Nets' success has transformed them from a seller at the trade deadline to a possible buyer. Entering Monday's meeting, Brooklyn has gone 20-8 in its last 28 games and is fresh off of a successful January that saw the team post an 11-4 record and the fourth-best defensive rating (106.9 points allowed per 100 possessions) in the NBA.

The franchise has several paths it can pivot to as the deadline approaches...

Although Knicks fans may have had their trade fill following the Kristaps Porzingis blockbuster, there's still some time to go until the trade deadline with several possible directions for New York.

Here are a few of the directions they can go in by Thursday afternoon.

Anthony Davis

Speaking to reporters Wednesday night for the first time in over a week, Warriors star Kevin Durant ripped the media's recent coverage of him -- coverage where many speculated his silence had to do with the Knicks recently opening up two max free agency slots for this summer.

Durant had been largely silent since the Knicks traded Kristaps Porzingis, and recently went on a Twitter liking spree of users who were bashing an article that connected his silence to his pending free agency and the Knicks. 

When Durant broke his silence on Wednesday night, he didn't hold back...

It has been almost a week since the Knicks traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Mavericks, yet more continues to come out about the details of his rocky relationship with the franchise. 

Per Marc Berman of The Post, Porzingis' brother/agent, Janis, wanted to have a bigger role with the Knicks, which included getting jobs within the organization for members of Porzingis' entourage. 

The Knicks had official positions for friends of Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire during their tenures in New York, but nothing was ever done for Janis' requests. 

As Kristaps Porzingis lifted his new Mavericks threads during Monday's introductory press conference in Dallas, it was the official end to a crazy few days that saw the 7-foot-3 Latvian go from the Knicks' franchise star, to a disgruntled one looking for a new beginning, to the centerpiece in a shocking blockbuster deal.

The deal went down so fast that all the details surrounding the evolution of trading New York's franchise cornerstone were left merky. That is until The New York Times' Marc Stein did some digging to solve some of the questions Knicks fans may still have. 

Possibly the biggest question is whether or not the Knicks got the best deal for the 23-year-old Porzingis, who is almost a year out since he tore his ACL last season. It turns out New York was quietly poking around the league with Porzingis' name in trade packages for most of last month. They were looking to see if teams would part ways with their presumed untouchable players, like Jazz PG Donovan Mitchell and Kings PG De'Aaron Fox, but nothing came of it. 

Now that the dust has settled from the Knicks and Kristaps Porzingis breakup, New York is shining a spotlight on its remaining assets to pursue one of the highest-earning basketball players in the world.

The Knicks seem to have their sights set on acquiring pending free agent Kevin Durant. Although the glamour for a nine-time All-Star to play for a New York team that enters Tuesday on a 13-game losing streak is nowhere to be found, the Knicks possess a key chip in DeAndre Jordan.

The two-time NBA rebound leader joined the Knicks in the package deal that sent Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks. New York could flip Jordan to pursue another max contract player like Anthony Davis, ending up as the buyout candidate. But the Knicks may have other ideas for Jordan.

Kristaps Porzingis is just focused on the future. 

The former Knicks star was introduced as a member of the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, along with Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee and Trey Burke, but the 7-foot-3 Latvian had no interest in discussing why things went awry in New York that led to the trade. 

"The situation is what it is," he said. "I would rather focus on what's ahead of me than looking back. 

The Knicks seem to have their sights set on pending free agent Kevin Durant, and even before the Kristaps Porzingis trade that cleared space for two max free agents this summer, Durant (and his brother) were dropping hints that he could be on his way out of Golden State. 

After the Porzingis trade, Knicks officials are now reportedly "highly optimistic" that they'll land Durant via free agency. And Durant has been "nowhere to be found" in the Warriors' locker room after the last two games -- something Mercury News writer Dieter Kurtenbach finds odd.

"Durant is almost always around postgame -- he's usually one of the last guys to leave the locker room after a game," Kurtenbach wrote Monday morning. "But over the last two contests, he's been nowhere to be found. And you can't convince me that has nothing to do with the Knicks."

Knicks president Steve Mills opened up on Sunday about the Kristaps Porzingis trade, going into detail about why the team felt it had to act quickly and what they needed in return.

While the Knicks have been criticized in some circles for acting as quickly as they did while trading Porzingis, Mills said the team didn't want to let things go beyond the Feb. 7 trade deadline out of fear that the team would lose leverage.

"We felt the 7th was really important because if we let this go beyond the 7th, the leverage completely shifted. We would not have control of the situation. We weren't sure what Kristaps was gonna come in and tell us. We didn't know if he'd come in and tell us he wanted to be traded, or he may have come in and said he wanted to do a one-year contract with a player option, which would then have made him untradable and he would have had all the leverage."

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." 

Knicks coach David Fizdale, forward Kevin Knox and center Mitchell Robinson all look to future after the big Kristaps Porzingis deal that sent the unicorn to the Mavericks. 

"It's been a whirlwind," Fizdale said Saturday.

Watch everyone's comments on the trade here.

In the aftermath of the Kristaps Porzingis trade that sent him to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, it became evident that there was a divide between the All-Star forward and the Knicks. 

There was a Daily News report that Porzingis voiced his frustrations to his teammates and Enes Kanter, another disgruntled Knicks veteran, confirmed those frustrations following Friday's 113-99 loss to the Celtics. 

The 26-year-old center, who has also demanded a trade from the Knicks after having his playing time diminished, said that he spoke with Porzingis often -- including a summit at halftime during a game against the Thunder last month -- and added the 23-year-old was unhappy with how the team was treating Kanter. 

The biggest return in the Knicks' trade of Kristaps Porzingis and other veterans with the Mavericks on Thursday was the nice chunk of cap space they freed up. It showed that the Knicks are throwing all their cards into an intriguing free agent class that could involve All-Stars like Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Klay Thompson to name a few.

Knicks fans are already looking ahead to a Durant-Irving duo at Madison Square Garden, as the team has the ability now to sign two max players. But does this strategy mean New York is out on the Anthony Davis sweepstakes?

Not necessarily...

David Fizdale has nothing but love for the Knicks' former Latvian baller. 

A day removed from the blockbuster trade that sent the face of New York's franchise, Kristaps Porzingis, to the Dallas Mavericks -- along with Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee and Trey Burke -- the Knicks head coach began his press conference with appreciation for his athletes.

"I just want to start off by thanking the guys that are going to Dallas," Fizdale said. "They were unbelievable professionals for me. It's never easy for a coach in these moments because you get so attached to guys. You go through a season where you struggle. I miss those guys and I really appreciate their approach to helping us."

The Knicks (10-40) will play their first game after trading All-Star big man Kristaps Porzingis (and Courtney Lee, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Trey Burke) to the Dallas Mavericks for two first-round picks, Wesley Matthews, Dennis Smith Jr. and DeAndre Jordan. The news of the trade emerged rapidly, after reports earlier in the day that Porzingis -- who has yet to play this year as he recovers from a torn ACL -- had met with Knicks management to express that he'd prefer to be traded.

Another wrinkle was revealed in the aftermath of the Kristaps Porzingis trade on Friday. 

According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, the 23-year-old All-Star was nearing the completion of his rehab from ACL surgery he had last February and was "essentially cleared to play."

Porzingis, however, was wary of how the Knicks would handle his potential return amid the team's tanking efforts, further dividing the rift between the 7-foot-3 Latvian "unicorn" and the Knicks' front office. 

The Knicks' return in the Kristaps Porzingis trade didn't feel like the best package they could have gotten for the 7-foot-3 All-Star. DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews are expiring contracts that New York may want to trade or waive outright, and the two future first-rounders will come in a couple years. 

So the only true return that will impact the Knicks immediately will be 21-year-old PG Dennis Smith Jr., who the Mavericks have been shopping prior to the Feb. 7 trade deadline.

Many Knicks fans will remember Smith being a top candidate to take two years ago with the eighth overall pick, but Phil Jackson's regime decided to go with Frank Ntilikina instead. Smith was taken with the ninth overall pick by Dallas right after Ntilikina.

Knicks officials are highly optimistic in their chances of landing Kevin Durant in free agency should he opt out of his player option and become an unrestricted free agent this summer, according to The Athletic's Sam Amick.

The Knicks, who cleared enough cap space to sign two free agents to max contracts this summer with Thursday's blockbuster Kristaps Porzingis trade, are considered to have a "strong chance" at landing the 30-year-old former MVP.

Of course, that is reliant upon Durant opting out of his $31.5 million player option with the Warriors, who are seeking their third straight championship with Durant. A max deal with Golden State would be a five-year, $221 million contract, while a max deal with any other NBA team would be a four-year, $164 million contract.

The Knicks made a stunning trade on Thursday that sent Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee and Trey Burke to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Wesley Matthews, Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan and two future first-round picks. 

While the trade sent shockwaves through the league, it also opens up the necessary cap space for the Knicks to sign two max contract free agents this offseason. 

This is how the New York back pages reacted to the trade: 

The Knicks' roster is in a limbo after the Kristaps Porzingis trade.

Upon Thursday's blockbuster trade with the Mavericks that also sent Tim Hardaway Jr. Courtney Lee and Trey Burke to Dallas, the players the Knicks received -- Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan and Wes Matthews -- won't be cleared and in New York in time for Friday's game against the Celtics.

And considering Emmanuel Mudiay is dealing with a shoulder injury and Frank Ntilikina suffered a groin injury, who actually will play for the Knicks?

When news broke earlier Thursday that Kristaps Porzingis was unhappy with how the Knicks' new direction was headed and no longer wanted to be a part of it, many believed the Knicks wouldn't give in. 

But that's exactly what they did when they sent Porzingis, along with Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee and Trey Burke to Dallas in exchange for DeAndre Jordan, Dennis Smith Jr., Wesley Matthews, a 2021 unprotected first-round pick and a 2023 top-10 protected first-round pick.

So why did the Knicks decide to grant Porzingis' wish? They had all the control with the Latvian a restricted free agent, no no-trade clause in his contract, and the fact that he still has yet to play since his torn ACL last February, making his value much lower than it may have been in the past...

After a rollercoaster day for Knicks fans, media and seemingly staff, the organization's best prospect since Patrick Ewing is now a Dallas Maverick, they have roughly $74 million in cap space to throw around this summer, and this city has gone *erases, scribbles* 0 days since the last melodrama.

A brief recap: Kristaps Porzingis was reportedly upset with the team's direction, aired his concerns out to management and wanted out, to which Scott Perry and Steve Mills quickly responded by flipping him, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee and Trey Burke in exchange for Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews, a 2021 unprotected first round pick and 2023 top-10 protected first round pick.

Got all that? Well, the timeline of all this transpiring is still fuzzy, and it's looking like the Knicks did not hold out for the best offer, try to reconcile with KP, or even salvage his trade value before moving on. That's okay though, because now the team is prime to sign two max deals (Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, anyone?), or fall back squarely on whatever's left of this 10-win roster and what comes up of this year's lottery pick...

The Knicks must have reason to believe Kevin Durant is coming to New York.

That's the only conclusion to draw from Thursday's shocking trade of Kristaps Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks.

After Porzingis and his brother, Janis, who is also his agent, met with the front office and expressed frustration with the direction of the franchise, the Knicks quickly sent him to Dallas along with some long-term contracts for a package headlined by second-year guard Dennis Smith, Jr. and two future first-round picks...

The Knicks have agreed to a trade that will send Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee and Trey Burke to the Mavericks, the team announced on Thursday.

In return, the Knicks will receive Dennis Smith Jr., two future first-round picks, and the expiring contracts of DeAndre Jordan and Wes Matthews.

In an official statement released by the Knicks, GM Scott Perry confirmed that Porzingis did indeed request a trade, and the team granted his wish...

The NBA world has been turned on its head with the Knicks and Mavs striking a blockbuster deal to send Kristaps Porzingis to Dallas. And, as one would expect, the Twitterverse exploded in shock to the surprising news.

The totality of the deal is the Knicks sending Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee, and Trey Burke to the Mavs in exhchange for DeAndre Jordan, Dennis Smith Jr., Wesley Matthews, and a future first-round pick that can't be this season with Dallas not owning one.

So, without further ado, here are just some of the Twitter reactions from around the NBA on the big move, starting with Porzingis himself...

Anthony Davis's trade request is the big news of the week for both the Knicks and NBA as a whole, for good reason. Davis is a once in a generation talent and clear-cut top five player in the league, and naturally someone of his caliber has reportedly piqued the interest of Scott Perry, Steve Mills and co.

But with what it will cost to acquire him and outside factors such as this summer's free agency, the list of potential rewards and drawbacks are as loaded as one of Brow's stat lines.

The obvious stuff first: Davis is a titan. He's averaging 29.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.7 steals and 2.6 blocks a night, his mere presence shifting defenses and leaving opposing scorers scurrying away like subway rats. Davis is a stalwart on defense, against any position. He chews up fake mismatches (when a perimeter think he's got an upper hand off a switch) for breakfast. The length, build and athleticism combination lets him cover ground and get to balls no human should be able to.

Kevin Knox was snubbed, the headlines exclaimed. This is just more terrible and laughable news for the Knicks, the copy went on to tell you.

Relax, everyone.

No, Knox was not one of the 10 first- and second-year players chosen for the U.S. team for the Rising Stars game at All-Star weekend next month. And neither were fellow Knicks in those categories, including Allonzo Trier and Mitchell Robinson, and disappointing 2017 first-round pick Frank Ntilikina, who was a member of the World team as a rookie last season.

And none of them should have made it this year.

With Anthony Davis making it clear that he wants out of New Orleans, and the Knicks having the assets to pull off a trade before the deadline, there's a buzz in the city that the star forward could maybe come to New York.

Even though the Pelicans could wait until after the season to make a deal, here are five possible Davis trades involving the Knicks (although he doesn't end up in New York in one of them).

TRADE 1: KNICKS AND PELICANS

• Knicks get... Anthony Davis
• Pelicans get... Enes Kanter, Kristaps Porzingis, Frank Ntilikina, 2019 first-round pick

A marriage between Kevin Durant and the Knicks has been a storyline since the regular season began. And many in the business believe it is one that can definitely come to fruition.

This summer, the Knicks are primed to completely revamp their franchise by adding a top free agent, high draft pick, or ideally, both. Durant will almost certainly be on their wishlist, and sources tell Bleacher Report's Ric Bucher that New York has "a strong chance" to entice him if he decided to opt out and leave the Bay Area. 

After winning two titles (and two MVPs to go with it), Durant is obviously going to want to find himself another contender if he does opt out. The Knicks obviously are not that team right now, but they could easily be next season with a few upgrades. 

The Knicks may not be the favorites to land Pelicans center Anthony Davis, but they may have the best deal to offer. 

Bleacher Report's Ric Bucher writes that an informal poll of NBA executives and scouts believe that a Knicks package centering around Kristaps Porzingis would be superior than anything the Lakers could offer. 

A Western Conference GM says that the performance of the Lakers since LeBron James has gone down with a groin injury has hurt the value of some of their younger players. 

The Knicks are expected to be "aggressive" in pursuing Pelicans' Anthony Davis in a trade, but could they really pull off landing the 25-year-old All-Star. 

According to odds from BetOnline, the Knicks actually have a decent shot at landing the Pelicans center in 2019. 

The Knicks are slated at 11/2 odds to acquire Davis while the Lakers are the favorites at 5/4. The Celtics, which cannot trade for Davis until July 1 due to the "Rose Rule," are 3/1 odds that he will be playing for them next season. 

Very few players on the Knicks' current roster appear to be safe from a potential trade. 

According to Marc Berman of The Post, the Knicks have explored trading "nearly everyone" on their roster with the exception of Kristaps Porzingis, Kevin Knox and Mitchell Robinson before the Feb. 7 trade deadline. 

It was previously reported the Knicks were actively shopping Enes Kanter, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Courtney Lee. 

Pelicans star Anthony Davis has requested a trade, his agent told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, and the Celtics and Lakers might already be at the forefront when it comes to a potential deal. But Wojnarowski also said the Knicks are prepared to be "aggressive" in pursuit of Davis.

"You're gonna see the Knicks try to be aggressive here now," Wojnarowski said Monday morning during an appearance on Golic and Wingo on ESPN radio. "If you're the Knicks, Kristaps Porzingis is a player who New Orleans would have to believe they could re-sign if they traded for him. And he may not be open to that. So, if you're the Knicks, the best chance you have is getting the number one overall pick and being in a position post-lottery time where you could tell the Pelicans 'hey, you can have Zion Williamson, you could rebuild with him.'"

As far as the potential that Davis is open to signing an extension with teams other than the Celtics or Lakers, Wojnarowski said that "teams in New York believe that."

This summer's free-agent class will feature the likes of Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Kyrie Irving, Kemba Walker and Klay Thompson, among others.

The Knicks, who currently have the third-worst record in the league, may not be the ideal destination for a free agent given their struggles, even if Shaquille O'Neal advocated for New York.

But that said, Knicks head coach David Fizdale has a message for all free agents.

Perhaps there is a chance Kristaps Porzingis will indeed play this season. 

The Knicks forward did not travel with the team to London this week as he continues to work on his rehab and prepare himself to play this season. 

David Fizdale could not even bear to look at Kristaps Porzingis in the gym. 

No, it is not because he dislikes the 7-foot-3 forward, nor was it because he did not like what he saw.

Quite the opposite, actually. 

Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis has missed 69 games since tearing his ACL last season. Friday's matchup against the Indiana Pacers will be Game No. 70, and that will impact his qualifying offer that could be his only route of becoming an unrestricted free agent sooner.

In missing his 42nd game of the 2018-19 season, Porzingis' qualifying offer would drop from $7.5 million to $4.5 million, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks.

The reason for the drop in Porzingis' qualifying offer is because Porzingis would need to meet the NBA's starter criteria, which requires any top-14 draft pick to play in at least 41 games or 2,000 minutes of that player's rookie contract.

The Knicks currently sit in the depths of the NBA standings, and with an early Kristaps Porzingis return likely out of the question, there's little hope for a miracle run at the postseason.

There's plenty to look forward to with young players like Kevin Knox and Allonzo Trier impressing, a high draft pick on the way and, perhaps most importantly, a shot at a major free agent come July. It's no secret the Knicks are going to pursue a franchise-alterer like Kevin Durant or Kawhi Leonard.

But what if they say no?

It has been nearly three years since Kevin Durant first dubbed Kristaps Porzingis a "unicorn," but the Warriors forward will not be getting the chance to go up against the Knicks' mythical creature when they square off on Tuesday. 

Instead Porzingis continues to recover from his ACL surgery, which he had 11 months ago, but Durant offered some words of encouragement for the 23-year-old during Tuesday's morning shootaround. 

"I hope he recovers from his injury and gets to play the game that he loves," Durant said. "The fans in New York and his teammates love having him out there. I know how tough injuries are. Being away from the game so long can be tough ... hopefully he gets back on the court."