Kristaps Porzingis reminds Spurs fans how close a double unicorn lineup was

Kristaps Porzingis just confirmed that the Spurs smoke was, in fact, real during the trade saga that eventually took him to Atlanta to play next to Trae Young. The Unicorn spoke in an interview with Sporta Studija, a Latvian sports media group, where he revealed that he thought his next home would be in Alamo City.

“After the season, I spoke to my agent and kind of expected that one or more of us would be traded. For a while, I thought I might end up with the Spurs, but then Atlanta came in—and that was a nice surprise. It was out of my hands.” - Kristaps Porzingis

Sounds like San Antonio was close to pulling it off. We don't know what went wrong or what changed, but the front office ended up not making any jaw-dropping moves. Despite how high everyone is on Luke Kornet, he's not the splashy move fans were anticipating when insiders were hinting or outright saying that the Spurs were looking to do something big this summer.

Wembanyama and Porzingis would have been insane together

When the offseason began, San Antonio fans were expecting the team to be active in the offseason. There was no telling what exactly that meant, but when the rumors began swirling around the name Porzingis, there was palpable excitement in Spurs Nation. That move would have been the most aggressive one the team has made since they went after LaMarcus Aldridge almost a decade ago.

I don't count the DeMar DeRozan acquisition since they were basically forced into that, courtesy of you know who, but that's not what's important here.

KP is legitimately 7'2" with a 7'6" wingspan. He averaged 20 points per game and shoots over 40% from the outside. His range is almost as long as Vic's, and they'd be able to stretch the floor in never-before-seen ways together. They'd be impossible to guard, and their rim protection would stunt every offense in the league.

It didn't happen, though, and that may be for the best. The Unicorn is also known for being the rehabber. He's only reached 65 games once in the past six years. Last season, Porzingis played fewer games (42) than Wemby (46). He's always injured. So, while it would have been awesome to see them hoop together, we may not have gotten much of it anyway if his career-long trend continues.

The Celtics ended up, in a three-team deal, shipping him and a 2026 second-round pick to ATL for Georges Niang, a 2031 second-round pick, and cash considerations from the Nets. The Nets added Terance Mann and Drake Powell. It doesn't sound like a deal the Spurs couldn't have matched if they really wanted to, but unless KP all of a sudden becomes a pillar of health, they made the right choice.