Knicks Rumors: Concerns on Kristaps Porzingis Included Injuries, Brother Janis

The New York Knicks reportedly had concerns that extended beyond Kristaps Porzingis' ability to make an impact on the court before they traded him to the Dallas Mavericks.

The Knicks announced they traded Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Trey Burke and Courtney Lee to Dallas for DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews, Dennis Smith Jr. and two future first-round draft picks Thursday.

Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports then reported New York's front office was concerned about signing Porzingis to a max contract because of the torn ACL he is recovering from and his brother, Janis.

Goodwill noted Janis has "been more involved in Kristaps' affairs and wanted to make demands to the front office about acquiring certain players, sources told Yahoo Sports. When the front office pushed back, the doubts about Porzingis having a future in New York came into play."

On the surface, it may seem unusual for a team to trade its best player when he is just 23 years old, but this report from Goodwill follows one from Adrian Wojnarowski, Zach Lowe, Ramona Shelburne and Ian Begley of ESPN.com stating the front office was under the belief Porzingis wanted to be moved following a Thursday meeting.

"There's been a significant disconnect between Porzingis and Knicks management in recent years, and it culminated in Thursday's meeting," they wrote. "Porzingis expressed concerns on the state of the franchise and his future with the organization, sources said."

What's more, Ian Begley of ESPN noted team president Steve Mills said "Over time it became clear with us that Kristaps Porzingis wasn't fully on board with the management's plan."

Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post provided another quote:

Still, he has superstar potential for a decade or more and averaged 22.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks a game while shooting 39.5 percent from three-point range in 48 games last season prior to tearing his ACL. He is also a matchup nightmare at 7'3" and can pair with Luka Doncic to compete in the Western Conference with the Mavericks.

The Knicks have other things in mind after moving the contracts of Hardaway and Lee as well.

Brian Windhorst of ESPN noted they are working toward creating two slots for max-contract players this offseason and are "preparing to swing big."

Goodwill speculated they could go after Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, which is a pairing that would fit in nicely alongside a favorable pick in the 2019 draft, such as Duke's Zion Williamson. New York has the fewest wins in the league at 10-40.