New York Knicks: Five reasons NYK shouldn’t trade Willy Hernangomez

5. Relationships Matter

If the New York Knicks should take anything from the Phil Jackson era, it’s that healthy working relationships matter. Sometimes, that means keeping a player on the roster for virtually no cost against the cap in order to placate the franchise star.

When that low-cost player just so happens to be skilled and competent in his own right, it becomes even more difficult to justify a potential trade.

Over the past four months alone, New York parted ways with Josh Longstaff—Porzingis’ favorite assistant coach—and franchise player Carmelo Anthony—Porzingis’ mentor. If the Knicks were to trade Willy Hernangomez, that list of departures would also include Porzingis’ best friend.

The NBA is a business, but New York would be asking a lot of a player whom the organization has already alienated with trade rumors.

For those unfamiliar, Hernangomez and Porzingis were teammates in Spain before they ever made the jump to the NBA. They forged a close bond both on and off the court as members of Baloncesto Sevilla, the Liga ACB club for which they played together between 2013 and 2015.

New York can’t base its personnel decisions exclusively on Porzingis’ friendships, but if it’s going to move three of his closest associates in a four-month span, it will need one hell of a return.