The facts are definitely pretty muddy, but I think three things are circumstantially clear:
1. Dallas had a deal in place at least by the night before the infamous KP meeting with Knicks leadership. Donnie's rare trip to NY was documented by Townsend before anyone had any inkling of a trade, and Stein (who I trust) reported that Dallas had a handshake agreement that night. Shelburne now appears to back that timeline as well.
2. Dallas was not KP's first choice. That's a personal opinion driven not so much by the various reports of his "list" but by his demeanor at the first press conference when Cuban stepped in and answered questions for him. He wasn't negative by any means, but he clearly wasn't prepared to gush like you might expect from a guy who just got exactly what he wanted.
3. Dallas read the situation well, made a deal they wanted, and locked up the guy long term.
Beyond that, who knows. All I know for sure is that Dallas reset the future of the entire organization in less than a year via two bold trades while the Knicks are still a joke of an organization.
1. Dallas had a deal in place at least by the night before the infamous KP meeting with Knicks leadership. Donnie's rare trip to NY was documented by Townsend before anyone had any inkling of a trade, and Stein (who I trust) reported that Dallas had a handshake agreement that night. Shelburne now appears to back that timeline as well.
2. Dallas was not KP's first choice. That's a personal opinion driven not so much by the various reports of his "list" but by his demeanor at the first press conference when Cuban stepped in and answered questions for him. He wasn't negative by any means, but he clearly wasn't prepared to gush like you might expect from a guy who just got exactly what he wanted.
3. Dallas read the situation well, made a deal they wanted, and locked up the guy long term.
Beyond that, who knows. All I know for sure is that Dallas reset the future of the entire organization in less than a year via two bold trades while the Knicks are still a joke of an organization.