NBA Rumors: Are Sixers interested in trading for Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis?

Anyone who is familiar with sports radio talk knows that fodder on the airwaves rarely does anything but rangle listeners to debate whatever the hot topic of the day is.

However, it is a good barometer of what is important to sports fans in the city. So hearing Chris Carlin and Ike Reese on 94 WIP discussing what it might take to get Kristaps Porzingis in a trade with the Knicks should come as no surprise.

The stretch-4 7-foot power forward has made his displeasure with his situation in Manhattan clear in recent weeks, and just Tuesday NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski said there was a “frenzy of interest” in the Latvian star after Knicks president Phil Jackson said the team was open to dealing him.

According to Adam Zagoria, the Sixers were among the teams to call New York and kick the tires on a deal for Porzingis.

New York is in the midst of a rebuild — at least starting one — and Porzingis is their best trade chip. They’ll likely want multiple first round picks in return for him.

After trading one of the four first round (likely lottery) picks they have in the 2018 and 2019 NBA Drafts, the Sixers have three future firsts and a slew of second rounders to offer in a trade. They could also conceivably gauge interest in likely Rookie of the Year Dario Saric, big man Jahlil Okafor and three-point specialist Robert Covington as assets.

A team like the Celtics — which can offer more by way of expendible first round draft picks — is a much more likely suitor, but just what Danny Ainge is up do is still unclear, as many expect Boston to make a move at a player like Chicago’s Jimmy Butler.

Would any of those pieces, in some combination, interest the Knicks? Well, it depends on the marketplace and what other teams are offering in return. Porzingis would be a lethal addition to a core that will contain Markelle Fultz, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid for years to come. Whether GM Bryan Colangelo has any more magic up his sleeve is anyone’s guess.