NBA rumors: Porzingis wasn't psyched about possibly playing with Kevin Durant

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Programming note: Watch the pregame edition of Warriors Outsiders Saturday at 4:00 p.m. PT, streaming live on the MyTeams app.

On Jan. 31, the Knicks agreed to trade Kristaps Porzingis to the Mavericks.

The move shocked most of the basketball world, because the 23-year old was the face of the franchise.

His time in New York, however, was filled with turmoil and he wasn't shy about voicing his displeasure with the state of the most valuable team in the league.

Hours before he was shipped to Dallas, Porzingis told Knicks management that he "no longer wanted to be a part of our group," team president Steve Mills told reporters shortly after the trade.

Was there anything in particular that cemented the Latvian's feelings about his future (or lack thereof) in the Big Apple? 

Well, there is a new piece of information that just might be very interesting to Warriors fans. On the most recent episode of The Lowe Post Podcast, Lowe said the following to ESPN Knicks reporter, Ian Begley.

"There is the possibility that they (the Knicks) got the sense that he wasn't psyched of how aggressively they were going to court bigger names than him. That's possible.

"I'm confident after talking to a lot of people -- I don't think he was psyched about playing with Durant. I don't know how directly that was verbalized to the Knicks. I'm confident that it wasn't something that was like his Plan A he was super thrilled about it.

"He wanted to be the face of the franchise. I think that's known, that's fair. Kevin Durant will be the face of the franchise if he comes. That's it. That's decided. 

"There are other guys who for various reasons I don't think would be the face of the franchise. Kemba Walker would not be. You could argue Kyrie Irving would not be if he were here with Porzingis. It would be close."

First and foremost, it needs to be made clear to everybody that Lowe is not specifically reporting that sources told him Porzingis flat out didn't want to play with KD. So don't get that twisted.

However, Lowe is as connected as it gets and he wouldn't just say something like this unless there was some degree of truth. His assertion is obviously newsworthy because of the connections between the reigning two-time Finals MVP and the Knicks.

And let's be real, if the Knicks were somehow made aware of Porzingis' feelings about Durant -- and if they are confident in their chances of luring Durant away from the Warriors -- it would make perfect sense to part ways with the fourth overall pick in the 2015 draft in order to free up the necessary cap space to potentially sign Durant and another max-level free agent in July.

OK. That's enough for today. Have a great Friday night and we will see you tomorrow for Warriors-Rockets.

Drew Shiller is the co-host of Warriors Outsiders. Follow him on Twitter @DrewShiller

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