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New York Knicks: 5 Teams That Could Trade For Kristaps Porzingis

By Kenneth Teape

Feb 10, 2017; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks power forward Kristaps Porzingis (6) warms up before a game against the Denver Nuggets at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 10, 2017; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks power forward Kristaps Porzingis (6) warms up before a game against the Denver Nuggets at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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New York Knicks: 5 Teams That Could Trade For Kristaps Porzingis
Jan 11, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) and New York Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis (6) in a game at Wells Fargo Center. The Philadelphia 76ers won 98-97. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Philadelphia 76ers

The 76ers have been in a rebuild for multiple years. The rebuild looks close to coming to an end as the 76ers have loaded up on young talent. They have quite an intriguing young core with Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Dario Saric. Robert Covington, T.J. McConnell, Justin Anderson, Richaun Holmes, and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot look like keepers as well. They also have Jahlil Okafor, whom they selected over Porzingis.

That is a move that the 76ers would probably like to have back. Okafor has not been great in his NBA career while Porzingis has shown star potential with the Knicks. With all of the assets the 76ers have compiled, they could make a competitive offer for Porzingis.

There aren’t many teams that have the combination of young players already on the roster and future draft picks such as the 76ers do. They could have two top-five picks in the 2017 NBA Draft, which is considered to be one of the deeper ones in recent history. If the Knicks did in fact move Porzingis, acquiring potential building blocks in the way of young players and draft picks would be a must.

The 76ers can foot that bill and not do much damage to their outlook. Trades in a division are rare to see, but there may not be a team that can offer the Knicks a package for Porzingis as good as the 76ers can.

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Philadelphia has a ton of talent to dangle in trade negotiations. They would probably be better off acquiring a veteran to help push their rebuild forward, but Porzingis would give them another player with superstar potential to build around.

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