The New York Knicks sought a trade of Kristaps Porzingis for much of January.

The Knicks approached the Sacramento Kings on De'Aaron Fox as well as the Utah Jazz on Donovan Mitchell while offering Porzingis. Both second-year players were deemed untouchable in Porzingis talks.

The Knicks always knew the Mavericks would be interested in meeting their price for Porzingis. One official from the Mavericks estimated that they approached the Knicks "about a hundred times" before they were willing to even discuss trading Porzingis. 

Dennis Smith Jr. is also a second-year guard but he's had a slower start to his career than Mitchell and Fox.