Twitter Explodes as Kristaps Porzingis Reportedly Traded to Mavs in Blockbuster

The first trade of the deadline season has gone down, and it's a blockbuster. 

The Dallas Mavericks reportedly acquired Kristaps Porzingis, Courtney Lee and Tim Hardaway Jr. in exchange for Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Wes Matthews and a draft pick, per Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer.

Understandably, Twitter completely exploded following the announcement:

Marc Stein of the New York Times (h/t ESPN's Tim MacMahon) reported in December Dallas was exploring Smith's trade market amid rookie Luka Doncic's emergence earlier this season.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported in early January that the team was "escalating talks" in pursuit of a trade.

Smith has put up respectable numbers during his sophomore campaign, averaging 12.9 points, 4.3 assists and 3.0 rebounds this season. Meanwhile, he is shooting 44.0 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from beyond the arc, both modest improvements from his rookie year (39.5 percent and 31.3 percent, respectively).

He missed six games in January—three games with a back injury and three with an "illness" as trade rumors swirled. He returned to the team on Jan. 22.

Having Doncic's playmaking style and Smith's athleticism figured to give the Mavericks solid building blocks for the future. Instead, the two struggled to get on the same page. 

Smith's ability to play off the ball became a concern in Dallas, according to Stein. And that's what contributed to the former lottery pick's trade.

New York had the opportunity to take Smith at No. 8 in 2018. However, the team opted to go with Frank Ntilikina, and Smith would go off the board to Dallas with the next pick.

Smith now becomes the latest player with a chance at a fresh start with the Knicks. Despite the team's woeful record, former top-10 picks Emmanuel Mudiay and Noah Vonleh have thrived under coach David Fizdale.

The Knicks' decision to move on from Porzingis is surprising. It seemed like he was the building block of their franchise, their most exciting young player since Patrick Ewing. The relationship instead soured to the point the Knicks moved on with surprising haste when presented a chance to clear their cap space for the summer.

Porzingis, meanwhile, will get at least one year to play alongside Luka Doncic in Dallas. Should he choose to accept his qualifying offer this summer, Porzingis would become an unrestricted free agent in 2020.