Two years ago, the NBA’s New York Knicks drafted Kristaps Porzingis, a 7’3” superweapon who can shoot, run, and jump. He’s unique. The team’s general manager, Phil Jackson, called him a “unicorn” on Wednesday. Porzingis is only 21 years old but has withstood the withering heat lamp of playing ball in the Big Apple and now qualifies as a franchise cornerstone.
So of course, the Knicks, who would reject an invitation to their own birthday party, are looking to trade him. The reasons are traceable to a report published two months ago detailing Porzingis’s frustration with the team’s dysfunction, which includes:
* Overhauling the roster to resemble a ’70s rock band that plays exclusively in casinos;
* Changing the offense midseason to a scheme that underutilized Porzingis’s unique skills;
* Having Jackson publicly ostracize New York’s superstar, Carmelo Anthony, who is a popular cultural figure and friendly with everyone in the NBA except Phil Jackson; and
* Then watching Knicks management extend Phil Jackson’s contract.
Around the time the story was printed, Porzingis skipped his season-end “exit interview” with management. Jackson was displeased.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a player, over 25 years of coaching, maybe 30, not coming to an exit meeting,” Jackson said on Wednesday. He is now entertaining offers to deal the wünderkind with an eye toward—I kid you not—the “future.” (Porzingis is the future: There is no better long-term bet than a 21-year-old, all-world player who makes only $4.1 million a year.)
“Does it bring us two starters and a draft pick or something that’s even beyond that, is something that we have to look at as far as going down the road,” Jackson says.
Given his spotty contact with the player, it figures he’s looking hard. “I’ve reached out [to Porzingis],” Jackson says. “We’ve communicated—not through voice or anything, though I’ve tried to call. Yeah. It’s got to be—they say no worries, he’s working hard. There are plenty of pictures on the Internet about him working hard and working at it, so. Yeah. We’ll get him back.” There you have it, Knicks fans. Your leader of men.
There’s a section on the Knicks Wikipedia page titled “2000-2003: Downfall.” But the story from 2004 to present hasn’t featured much of a comeback. Since the 2001-02 campaign (excepting one season shortened by a labor stoppage), the Knicks have won the following number of games: 30, 37, 39, 33, 23, 33, 23, 32, 29, 42, 54, 37, 17, 32, and 31.
The Knicks were once one of sport’s biggest brands: They had great players on great teams and famous fans watching inside the World’s Most Famous Arena. They were competitive throughout the 1990s thanks to having Patrick Ewing as captain. Were it not for Michael Jordan, they might have won a championship. Since then, they’ve been serially mismanaged under the oversight of Madison Square Garden executive chairman and de facto owner James Dolan. General managers and head coaches have turned over through firings and resignations, overpriced rosters have changed dramatically and frequently, and draft picks have flown out the door in misguided transactions. In last year’s NBA Draft, the Knicks did not have a single selection.
In Thursday night’s draft, the Knicks have the eighth overall pick. But the rumor is that they want to trade up in order to grab 20-year-old Josh Jackson, from Kansas.
Which would probably mean giving up the 21-year-old Porzingis, turning a franchise-changing player into waste.
The Knicks are a trainwreck into Yucca Mountain.
