Kristaps Porzingis
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Kristaps Porzingis regrets the way he handled parts of his breakup with the New York Knicks, but he says it’s all in the past.

The New York Knicks shocked the NBA world last January by trading their supposed franchise cornerstone—Kristaps Porzingis—to the Dallas Mavericks.

The Knicks sent Porzingis to Dallas with Tim Hardaway Jr., Trey Burke, and Courtney Lee while the Mavericks sent back Dennis Smith Jr., Wesley Matthews, DeAndre Jordan, and two first-round draft picks.

Emotions ran high on both sides after the trade and Porzingis took to Instagram to post cryptic messages like “the truth will come out” and for Knicks fans to “stay woke.” Now, Porzingis is looking to put that ugly past behind him and move forward with his new situation.

“That definitely wasn’t the way I wanted it to happen, but there wasn’t really another way to do this,” Porzingis told reporters of the blockbuster trade that sent him from New York to Dallas.

“With all the emotions going on in that moment I put out some stupid Instagram stories in my bed up late at night like oh man, I got traded,” Porzingis laughed. “We all make mistakes and it wasn’t perfect. There was no smooth way out of that I think so it got a little bit ugly, but it’s in the past. It’s in the past right now and I have nothing negative to say about that situation.”

Living well is the best revenge and Porzingis is doing just that in Dallas. Despite some inconsistent stretches in his first games back, the 7-foot-3 Latvian is averaging 19.0 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 2.3 blocks per game.

The Mavericks are 5-2 and KP has played in all seven games. He looks healthy at the moment, even if he’s not back to his All-Star form of two seasons prior.

Porzingis and the Knicks will square off on Friday night (8:30 p.m. ET) for the first time since that January trade.

 
NY/NJ hoops reporter (NBA/NCAA) & sports betting writer for XL Media. Never had the makings of a varsity athlete.