Last week, the New York Knicks young star, Kristaps Porzingis, decided to not show up to his end-of-season meeting. There’s been a lot of speculation over whether or not Porzingis is happy in New York. According to the New York Post, the big man still loves New York.
“’Of course,’ Porzingis told The Post at his luxury apartment complex in Manhattan, when asked if he wants to be a Knick next year. ‘I love New York. I love New York.'”
While Porzingis still won’t talk about why he missed his exit interview, he did mention some frustration about the Knicks organization.
“’No one’s comfortable with losing,’ Porzingis said that day. ‘If it means going in the right direction and doing the right thing, let’s do that. But just having no idea the direction, then it’s not going to work out. The direction has to be clear what we want to do.’”
After talk about the New York Knicks being a super team with the addition of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, there was a lot of disappointment when the team missed out on the playoffs. In fact, the Knicks finished 12th in the East with a record of 31-51.
Kristaps Porzingis didn’t have quite the season some were hoping for. He missed 16 games during the season due to injury. Even though he averaged four more minutes compared to last year, his rebounding didn’t improve — it actually went down. It’s not much, but he averaged 7.2 rebounds last year, and he averaged 7.1 this season. His Defensive Rebounding Percentage dropped from 20.7 to 18.1 percent, his Offensive Rebounding Percentage dropped from 7.1 percent to 5.7 percent, and his Total Rebounding Percentage went from 14 percent to 11.8 percent.
The Knicks may have a new look next year if they decide not to re-sign Rose. If that’s the case, the hope is that Kristaps Porzingis will touch the ball a lot more. The Knicks will have to go the extra mile in order to keep their best young talent happy, though.
