Bobby Portis is now a member of the New York Knicks, and he has a shiny new 2-year, $31 million contract. Across town, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant have teamed up on the Brooklyn Nets. Durant likely won’t be able to play until 2020-21, but for now it appears Brooklyn is the big dog in the Big Apple.
Meanwhile, Portis was apparently able to make his decision to sign with New York thanks to some outside information about Irving and Durant.
Speaking with The Athletic this week, Portis said that he knew in February of 2019 that both players were going to sign with the Nets. That apparently gave him the leg up he needed to choose the Knicks.
Via The Athletic:“I knew what was gonna happen in February,” he said. “We all knew that (Durant and Kyrie Irving would go to Brooklyn). Everybody knew that. I just don’t think the media knew that. Us basketball players, we all knew that.”
(No, he won’t tell you how he knows. Even players don’t reveal their sources. “I’m not going to leak my source,” he said. “But we all know where they were going. I’m protecting mine, but we all knew where they were going.”)
Durant and Irving were rumored to be heading to Brooklyn for quite some time. Murmors around the NBA media sphere were abundant, with reports dating back to the summer of 2018 that the Nets were going to pursue Irving. We also got word in May of this year that Irving’s camp was going to try to push him toward Brooklyn, and Caris LeVert said he thought his team could be a top choice for Durant in March.
We didn’t know for sure, and perhaps Portis did. The reality of NBA players as they know more than we do basically at all times, despite the best reporting available. That’s the nature of the game.
It’s an interesting report from Portis, and if true it wouldn’t surprise us in the least. The line between conspiracy theory and fact in the NBA is often simply how much information you’re privy to.