Knicks President Steve Mills: Kristaps Porzingis Didn't Want to Be Here

After trading Kristaps Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks president Steve Mills explained the team's thinking behind the move. 

During a conference call on Thursday (h/t ESPN.com's Ian Begley), Mills felt the Knicks couldn't invest long term in a player who made it clear he didn't want to remain with the organization.

"We feel like we did the right thing," Mills said. "When you try to think about how you want to build your team for the long term, you don't want to commit a max [contract] to a player who clearly says to you he doesn't want to be here. That would be a disservice for our organization and disservice to our fans."

Prior to the trade, ESPN reported Porzingis had shared his "concern" with the Knicks' losing ways, future direction and if their culture will allow them to be consistently successful in a meeting with the team.

Perry noted the Knicks were already engaged in trade discussions prior to the meeting with Porzingis and that they "decided to act upon one" after talking.

In a since-deleted post on Instagram (h/t ESPN's Rachel Nichols), Porzingis wrote "the truth will come out" followed by a smiley-face emoji. 

Porzingis hasn't appeared in a game since tearing his ACL against the Milwaukee Bucks in February 2018. The 23-year-old still has no official timetable to return and was set to be re-evaluated in mid-February while with the Knicks. 

Before Porzingis injured his knee, he averaged 22.7 points and 6.6 rebounds in 48 games last season.