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Certain unnamed members of the Knicks’ brain trust were all set to head to Chicago this Friday to watch a workout from intriguing forward prospect Michael Porter Jr. Well it turns out they won’t have to bother; Porter’s people have cancelled the workout.
Michael Porter Jr.’s group canceled a workout scheduled on Friday, per league sources. The Knicks, Suns, Kings and other lottery teams had planned to attend in Chicago.@ringer's mock draft is updated to reflect the latest intel, including Porter rising: https://t.co/0PYq9NNvWx
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) June 14, 2018
At this stage of the pre-draft process, that probably means Porter has received a commitment from one of the teams high in the draft. Interestingly enough, ESPN’s Ian Begley reported earlier in the week that certain teams were trying to entice the Knicks into trading up in the draft with Porter in mind:
Some teams with picks ahead of the Knicks have reached out to members of the organization to gauge their interest on trading up to draft Michael Porter Jr., league sources say. Of course, hundreds of conversations like these take place between teams leading up to the draft. And there is no indication that any of the teams that reached out are close to a deal with NYK, nor that Knicks decision-makers have reached any consensus on who they’d like to draft with their first-round pick. But opposing teams are aware that some members of the Knicks’ organization are big fans of Porter Jr.
The Chicago Bulls, who pick 7th, are the only team to be given a copy of Porter’s medical records. That’s a pretty big deal, as the forward missed nearly all of his freshman season with a back injury.
In the end, this probably doesn’t affect the Knicks, who probably had no chance at nabbing Porter at No. 9, and (I hope) are smart enough not to trade up.