NBA Rumors: Porzingis Deal Part Of Grand Plan For Durant, Irving

The New York Knicks surprised everyone when they dealt Kristaps Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks in a seven-player trade deal. Dallas landed the Latvian beanpole were Trey Burke, Courtney Lee, and Tim Hardaway Jr. while the Knicks got DeAndre Jordan, Wes Matthews and Dennis Smith Jr.

Prior to the Mavs, ESPN reported that the Knicks did call the New Orleans Pelicans on a possible deal for Anthony Davis. Unfortunately, the Pelicans were not interested in Porzingis as questions on his willingness to remain in New Orleans beyond his current contract became uncertain.

After the Porzingis trade, the Knicks will now have $74.6 million available in cap space in the offseason. This provides New York with a bit of leeway in going after upcoming NBA free agents - notably Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.

Aside from the $17.1 million that Porzingis would have gotten in the summer, also gone were the $18.1 million owed to Hardaway and $12.7 million to Lee. The contracts of Jordan and Matthews total $18.7 million in salary next season, Hoops Hype reported. There is a possibility that both players may be bought out.

Durant has been linked to the Knicks, and the fact that his agent, Rich Kleiman, is a lifelong Knicks fan could push the 30-year-old to move to Gotham. Aside from that, there is a growing belief among factions at the Madison Square Garden that New York has a good chance of landing the two-time NBA champion.

As for Irving, the Knicks could be a stop if the word out is true that Uncle Drew has grown impatient of the Celtics' run so far this season. The 26-year-old is said to be growing impatient with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum and his future plans depend on how far Boston goes this season.

In a previous post, rumblings are that Irving could end up reuniting with James with the Lakers. This cropped up after both NBA stars were reportedly talking again with Kyrie seeking advice from the "King."

Irving's decision could depend on who his potential teammates could be. Aside from James, closely linked is Davis, who expressed his desire to be traded by the Pelicans. Also, it is a given that the Lakers need a steady point guard to orchestrate the Lakers, making the top overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft a perfect fit.

For now, all this should be taken with a grain of salt. There are a lot of things that can still go down in the current NBA season. Once the smoke is cleared, expect another round of madness to take place in July.