When the 2018-19 NBA season officially ended, the New York Knicks emerged the No. 1 favorite team to land Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant in the 2019 NBA free agency. The Knicks headed into the summer of 2019 loaded with enough salary cap space for two max free agents. Unfortunately for the Knicks, though, Irving and Durant left their respective teams as unrestricted free agents, and ended up joining the other New York-based team, the Brooklyn Nets.
After failing to acquire their top targets in the 2019 NBA free agency, the Knicks decided to use their salary cap space to sign the likes of Julius Randle, Taj Gibson, Bobby Portis, Reggie Bullock, Elfrid Payton and Wayne Ellington. Portis, who signed a two-year contract worth $31 million, said in an interview with Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic that playing for the Knicks is a “dream come true.”
“I’m kind of happy that it did,” Portis said, as quoted by Slam Online . “I’m [gonna] be playing in a beautiful city for the New York Knicks. That’s a dream come true.”
Bobby Portis also revealed that most NBA players, including him, knew about the plan of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant to team up in Brooklyn as early as February.
“I knew what was gonna happen in February,” Portis said. “We all knew that [Durant and Irving would join the Nets]. Everybody knew that. I just don’t think the media knew that. Us basketball players, we all knew that.”
Judging by Bobby Portis’ revelation, it seems like ESPN ‘s Adrian Wojnarowski and The Athletic ‘s Shams Charania aren’t the only ones who have insider information. However, Portis said that he does not intend to reveal his so-called “sources.”
“I’m not going to leak my source,” Portis said. “But we all know where they were going. I’m protecting mine, but we all knew where they were going.”
“I knew what was gonna happen in February.” https://t.co/PyjoOb7OBD
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) July 8, 2019
The decision of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to sign with the Nets has undeniably changed the NBA landscape. On paper, the Nets have turned from a mediocre team to a legitimate title contender in the Eastern Conference. However, Nets’ fans will need to wait a little longer to see Durant and Irving play on the court together, as the All-Star forward is expected to spend most of the 2019-20 NBA season recovering from an injury.
Meanwhile, the acquisition of Bobby Portis and other veterans will make the Knicks a more competitive team in the 2019-20 NBA season. However, without a legitimate NBA superstar on their roster, it remains to be seen whether the Knicks have what it takes to end their playoff drought next season.
